


Road to Heaven

by Fire_Bear



Series: Klance Month 2019 [21]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: (I don't think I should be so surprised to see that as a tag), (I hope that's the right sort of riding), (I'll explain about that in the notes), Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angel Wings, Demon Powers, Demon Wings, Dubious Consent, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss, First Time, Gardens & Gardening, Hand Jobs, Insecure Lance (Voltron), Insecurity, Kissing, Klance Month 2019, M/M, Manipulation, Mildly Dubious Consent, Neighbors, Riding, Wings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2020-12-27 05:10:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 22,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21113198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fire_Bear/pseuds/Fire_Bear
Summary: Watching the lead up to the Apocalypse, God decided that They didn't wish to see all Their children hurting each other. And so They Banished all the angels and demons from their realms and forced them to live their lives in the human realm. It wasn't long before half-angels and half-demons were born.Life went on. People plotted. God watched over it all.And a half-angel met his new half-demon neighbour...





	1. Lead Us Not Into Temptation

**Author's Note:**

> This is in the Klance Month series because this is what I have for Day 25 but I figured... angels, demons, sort of Halloweeny and appropriate for Keith's birthday. (Despite it being from Lance's POV...)
> 
> You may have noticed the dubious consent tags. I'll explain that more at the end? I think. This is another one-shot that I have an entire story for and I'm not sure I want to spoil it, even with that small detail... (Again, I'm leaving this as one chapter till I come back to this.)
> 
> Keith does have his reasons and is rather stressed. Lance is... well... Lance.

Their garden was filled with flowers. Some were clustered on the ground, neatly separated from others in their flowerbeds. Others adorned bushes or descended from the trees that they had managed to squeeze into the limited space. A couple of hanging baskets made sure that the floral scent flowed through the house whenever the back door was opened, each of them trailing vines. Right at the back, however, was a part of the garden designed to look like a meadow within which the precious juniberries bloomed, hearty and hale. 

Pausing on his way to tend to them on a sunny afternoon, Lance put his hands on his hips and took a deep breath. He could smell roses and lavender and fennel. The air was sweet and cleansing: it never failed to cheer him up or take his mind off his worries. To him, the garden was perfect, practically Eden itself. Not only was it beautiful, but they also grew strawberries and had a small vegetable garden, so it was useful. And, though he didn’t do them that often, the flowers helped in any of his rituals.

So, with a bright smile, he made his way to the tiny shed that was placed against the wall of their house, squeezed there to allow more room for the flowers. He unlocked the door, slipped the key into the pocket of his ‘gardening jeans’, and opened it. Pulling out the necessary equipment - shears, compost, watering can - Lance set them on the small piece of decking that separated the house from its paradise. Finally, he picked up his gardening gloves and pulled them on. Gathering his equipment, he stood and turned to go, only to pause when his eyes caught on the fence to his left.

His eyes narrowed into a glare and his wings fluffed up a little in irritation. 

Despite being unable to see due to the height of the fence, Lance knew his new neighbours were in the garden. There were grunts and cursing coming from that way, as well as horrible ripping noises. He had no idea what they were doing, but it was ruining the peace of Lance’s sanctuary. When he was out here, he didn’t like to be disturbed, liked to feel that much closer to his biological father. 

For a moment, he considered leaving them alone and ignoring them. However, a particularly loud curse from close to the fence made Lance scowl and, leaving his things by the plants he wanted to tend to, he marched up to the fence. As he moved closer, he fluffed up his wings, hoping it could be used as an intimidation tactic. Then again, demons - well, half-demons - probably didn’t get intimidated by anything. Irritated - and irritated that he _ was _ irritated - he curled his fingers over the top of the fence and used it to pull himself up, standing on his toes to see over the top.

In the next garden, a young man around Lance’s age stood amongst a mess. The garden had been overgrown from neglect (despite Lance wanting to set it right) but, now, several of the plants that had been left to fend for themselves by the brothers had been uprooted. All of them had been abandoned while the black-haired man grabbed at another plant, growling. His hair was long, almost to his shoulders at the back. Large, black, feathered wings had been spread wide to keep his balance as he dug his heels in to yank the plant out, his movement brutal. A dark red jacket covered his black ensemble and he looked dangerous, all the more so for the tiny nubs of horns that adorned the top of his head. They marked him as a half-demon, just as Lance’s white wings and faint halo marked him as a half-angel.

As far as Lance could tell, this was the younger brother, Keith. The older one - Takashi Shirogane, if Lance remembered correctly - had longer horns that jutted forward a little, bracketing the strange clump of white hair. If he didn’t have the wings and horns of a demon and the demonic arm, Lance would have thought Shirogane looked distinguished. As it was, it was frightening - usually only angels and half-angels had white hair, their purity shining through every part of their body.

The two of them had moved in a month or so ago, but Lance had been trying to avoid talking to them. So far, Lance had only exchanged a few snippy words with Keith. His family and neighbours had been a lot more welcoming. But, with Lance’s acceptance into the Angelus Thesaurizant Academy still up in the air, he couldn’t afford to take chances. They only took the purest of half-angels and associating with demons of any form was probably a bad idea. And Lance _ needed _ to get into that school, otherwise… Well, how could he look his biological father and half-sister in the eye if he failed to get in, failed _ them_? 

Of course, even just speaking to Keith or peeking at him over the fence might count, but Lance’s curiosity mounted as he watched Keith growl again, a hand digging into his hair in frustration, before he threw the plant aside. There seemed to be some purpose to Keith’s demolishment of his own garden, but Lance couldn’t see it. All sorts of plants lay around him, dead or dying, in the middle of the overgrown grass, completely tangled.

Curiosity won out and Lance spoke. “What on Earth are you doing?” he asked, startling Keith enough that he fell back a step. When Keith’s dark eyes looked up at Lance, the half-angel tilted his head. “Is there a reason you’re pulling up your garden?”

Instead of answering, Keith only stared, eyes wide. He looked pained and a little… Was that fear? Was the demon afraid of the angel? Pleased, Lance let his smile grow, hoping he looked as benign and innocent as possible. Finally, Keith swallowed. “Why do _ you _ care?”

“Well, the plants don’t deserve to be brutalised,” Lance pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

Keith’s brow furrowed, though Lance couldn’t tell if it was from anger or confusion. Whichever it was, Keith shook his head. “It’s- Just- I… I’ve lost something and I want to do a finding spell.”

Lance cast his gaze over the daffodils and begonias that had found their way from their beds to the middle of the garden. “And… demonic finding spells require you to rip up a garden?”

“No! I- The-The ritual names the flowers but I don’t know what they look like!”

For a moment, Keith looked genuinely distraught, as if finding the flower and whatever he was looking for was a matter of life or death. Somehow, it made Lance’s heart go out to him, made him want to take over and do it for him. That feeling was quickly followed up with a kind of panicked frustration. So, frowning, Lance looked over the garden again, though he couldn’t see much of what was there due to the long stalks of grass they still hadn’t cut. If he didn’t help Keith, then the boy would likely be there for hours, searching and making a lot of noise.

With a sigh, Lance tried to push himself up a little more in order to see over the fence better, his wings flapping lazily as they propelled him up enough to take his feet off the ground. “What does your ritual say you need?” he asked, squinting through the mess beneath the fence. Mostly weeds, he decided.

“What?”

Looking up, Lance saw that Keith was staring at him in obvious disbelief. “What flower are you looking for,” Lance asked, a little slower. “I can show you what it looks like. Or… With the state of that garden, I’ll probably just give you one of ours. So which one do you need?”

“Oh. Um…” Keith shifted from foot to foot, seeming rather nervous or reluctant to tell Lance. The angel almost rolled his eyes at that. “I need,” Keith said, his brow furrowing again, though Lance could tell that, this time, he was focussing on remembering the ingredients. “I need… a hell flower. And nightshade.”

Again, Lance looked over the garden, this time taking in what was planted there. After a moment, he realised that their very human neighbours had never planted anything that extreme. They had been very lovely, sweet people and daffodils and begonias were really their only foray into gardening. Since no-one had used the house since they had moved, no new plants had been introduced and nothing as exotic as a hell flower would be found there. 

“I can get you nightshade,” Lance said, glancing over his shoulder where a small patch had been given over to the plant. They were useful in angelic rituals as well, so he had made sure to plant some so Lance could use them if he needed to. “But you’ll have to go to an apothecary to get a… hell flower. I’m not sure what that is.”

“I think it’s red,” Keith explained.

Lance raised an eyebrow once again. “I can see yellows and pinks in your garden, but there’s no red, dude.”

“Shit,” said Keith. He raised a hand and dragged it through his hair, tugging at the strands. “_Shit_!”

“Is what you’ve lost really important?”

“Yes,” Keith said as he stared at a point on the ground. Then, as Lance watched, wondering if he should do anything else, Keith slowly lifted his gaze to Lance’s. They watched each other for a moment. “You’re… Lance, right?”

“Yeah,” said Lance, surprised that Keith had remembered. “And you’re Keith.” The demon nodded. There was a brief pause as they both waited for the other to speak. Lance broke the silence. “Do you, uh, want the nightshade?” 

“Um, yeah?” Keith replied, speaking a little slowly. “If… Do you want to come over? When you bring me the nightshade?”

“Wha-?” Lance stared at him, confused. There was a strange sort of pull towards Keith, a curiosity to find out what was so important, the desire to know what a demonic ritual would be like. “I can just pass you it over the fence,” Lance told him.

Keith’s face twisted into a variety of expressions that Lance wasn’t able to pick up on the meaning of with how quickly they passed . They were there and gone in an instant. Finally, Keith shrugged, the only response that Lance was likely to get. So he lowered himself from the fence and turned to make his way through the garden.

Once he’d stopped to grab his gloves, pulled them on and grabbed the shears, Lance wove his way through his precious garden. Pretty purple blossoms were clustered just beside the bubbling water feature his mother had insisted on putting into the garden. The noise was calming, peaceful in the quiet. His paradise was restored.

He didn’t know why he was helping this demon. But angels were kind to all living creatures, weren’t they? Unless they were fallen angels, of course. Regardless, this would score points when he tried to get into the Academy, wouldn’t it? Either way, he felt a little better with the thought of half-demons in his vicinity - the frustration, so close to the sin of anger, had ebbed somewhat. Maybe that was because of how desperate Keith seemed… 

Cutting a couple of blooms, Lance returned to the fence, ready to hand it over. However, when he reached the fence and pulled himself up onto his toes, Keith was still standing where he had left him, his head buried in his hands. Lance was alarmed by the thought of him crying about this. Whatever this thing was that he’d lost, it must have been more important than the teddy that Lance had once used a finding ritual for.

Clearing his throat, Lance said, “Here.”

Going still, Keith didn’t seem to acknowledge him. Lance blinked, confused. But, before he could speak, Keith suddenly dropped his hands and raised his head, looking at Lance with an intensity that Lance had never seen before. “Are you sure you don’t want to come over? I could use… a friend.”

That pull came back in full force. _ Surely_, Lance found himself thinking, _ it couldn’t be a _ bad _ thing that he was associating with a demon. God had put all the angels, demons and humans on Earth to make them get along, after all… _“I…” His brow furrowed as he considered it further.

“If it helps, Shiro’s not here. He’s… gone away on business.”

Keith looked so hopeful that Lance’s resistance vanished. So did that strange pull, but he pushed that thought aside for the moment. “Okay, fine,” he said, rather snappily. “But don’t do anything to… To _ sully _ me.”

With a snort, Keith shook his head. “Don’t worry about that.” He turned towards the back of his house. “I’ll go let you in.”

“Don’t be silly,” said Lance. “I’ll fly over.”

“Wha-?”

Lance ignored him and lowered himself to the ground. Taking a step back so that he wouldn’t hit the fence, he barely remembered to put down his shears. Then he stretched out his wings and flapped them a few times, stretching those muscles. Once he felt ready, he beat down with heavy strokes until, finally, he lifted off the ground. Since he was only intending to go up and over, he strained to climb steadily into the air instead of shooting upwards like he enjoyed doing. Eventually, he could see over the fence and watched Keith’s eyes widen; Lance grinned at him, wondering what he looked like to Keith. Slowly, he flew upwards until he deemed it high enough to change the angle of his wings’ flapping till he had cleared the fence. Then, with as much grace as he could muster, he dropped daintily down in front of the half-demon, delighted at the surprise on his face.

“There,” said Lance, beaming at Keith. “I made it.” He glanced down at his hand and held it out. “Here’s your nightshade. Be careful with it.”

“I… Uh, I will…” said Keith, slowly. He looked like he’d been stunned. Lance blinked at him, wondering what was going on with him. Eventually, he took the plant and cleared his throat. “Uh, you wanna come in?”

“Sure,” said Lance, easily. Once more, he was struck by a bout of curiosity. What would a demon’s home look like?

“Okay. This way, I guess.”

As he followed Keith to the door, Lance thought it was strange, how easy it had happened, and wondered at how he had gotten himself into this situation. Compassion, he figured. After all, he had been acting all disgruntled by their new neighbours since they had moved in, had openly told his family that he didn’t want them there. Maybe it was because there were hardly any demons in this town, and he avoided them like the plague. Half-demons, however, were much rarer in these parts. In fact, both demons and half-demons were rarely seen outside of Galra City these days. By contrast, angels and half-angels were prevalent throughout the country, though a vast number of them were in Altea, the city the archangel Alfor had claimed as an angel sanctuary all those years ago.

Whatever the reason, he found himself stepping through the back door and into… darkness. He hadn’t noticed as they had walked up, but the curtains were all drawn. Bulky shapes told Lance where boxes had been left, still full. Clearly, the rigors of their life had seen them too busy to properly unpack since they’d gotten here. Keith expertly dodged around them as they moved through a hallway, stairs passing above their heads as they dodged around a side table. 

They came to a doorway and passed through into a living room. There was a couch, a TV, bookcases with disorganised books and comfy armchairs. Apart from that, there was nothing personal in the room, likely still in the boxes that had been shoved aside. On the square coffee table, Lance could see that Keith had left out a few candles, a scroll, a scrap of cloth with a strange ritual circle on it, and a knife.

Keith moved over to the couch and sat down. His wings flicked up as he lowered himself to his seat, settling over the back of it. With a careless movement, he tossed the nightshade onto the table beside the rest of the ingredients. “I won’t do it just now, since you’re here. I don’t want to be a, uh, bad host.”

Lance stood where he was, shifting from foot to foot. “Does it need to be so dark in here?” he asked.

“For the ritual, yeah,” Keith replied. “Do you want me to turn on the light?”

“I can do it,” said Lance, already turning back towards the door. He flicked the switch and, when he turned around, he found that room was painted a dark red. The carpet he tread across on his way back to the couch was a nice cream which was quickly getting dirty due to their boots. Grimacing, Lance sat on the couch to remove them before he tracked more dirt everywhere, making sure to lift his wings out of the way.

“Thank you,” said Keith, staring down at the table.

“You’re welcome.” Lance sent Keith a small smile as he slid one boot off. “Can’t you just wait for your brother, though. To help you find whatever you’ve lost?”

Beside him, he felt Keith tense. Confused, Lance paused in the act of pulling his other boot off and looked up at him. Keith’s jaw was clenched and his nostrils flared as he breathed. His eyes seemed to flash yellow for a moment before he took one last, deep breath. “I can’t. I wasn’t supposed to lose it. Besides, he’s away. On business.”

“Oh. What _ are _ you trying to find?” Lance asked. He returned to his task of removing his boots and set them to the side of the couch, wondering if he should find something to clean up after himself. 

“Just… Something important.”

Lance rolled his eyes and straightened, turning to Keith so he could give him a deadpan stare. “Yeah, I gathered that from the last few times I asked.”

For some reason, Keith merely gazed back at Lance, his eyes flicking over Lance’s face as if he was looking for what he’d lost within the half-angel. “It’s private,” Keith eventually told him.

“I see…” 

There was a short silence. It wasn’t a comfortable one, and Lance looked away to survey the room. Lance wasn’t entirely sure what had possessed him to come into a demon’s house, but it wasn’t as exciting and riddled with danger as he had thought. In fact, he couldn’t feel himself being ruined merely by being in Keith’s presence, so maybe half-demons weren’t as bad as full demons. Or maybe his archangel blood made it more difficult to taint him. Either way, this was beginning to get awkward and he wondered if it was rude to leave so soon.

“You’re very beautiful,” Keith suddenly said.

“What?” asked Lance, startled into looking back at him. He could feel his cheeks growing hot under Keith’s gaze.

“I mean- Um…” Keith stuttered, face lighting up with his own blush. “Is it an angel thing?”

“I… think so?” Lance blinked and shook his head, trying to force his brain to catch up with what was going on. Had his hot new neighbour really called him _ beautiful _? “Well, it might be. I dunno. Have you seen any other angels or half-angels that look as pretty as me?” He grinned at his joke - even though it was half serious - and fluttered his eyelashes.

Keith turned even redder.

“I haven’t seen anyone as perfect as you,” he said, rather matter-of-factly, despite the way he looked towards the coffee table, rather than Lance.

“Really?” said Lance, flattered. Lance couldn’t help smiling.

“Yeah.” Keith paused. Then, with a small smirk, he added, “But I’ve not really seen any angels or half-angels bar you.”

Lance narrowed his eyes at him. “I see,” he said. “I suppose I should tell you that you’re the most attractive demon I’ve ever seen - though, I didn’t think I’d ever meet one. Shouldn’t you be in Galra City?”

For some reason, that made Keith scowl. He looked furious, and Lance’s eyes widened with alarm. Had he said something wrong? Was he in danger? But, when Keith finally spoke, Lance realised that he wasn’t angry at _ him_. “I _ hate _ that place,” Keith growled.

Another silence fell. This time, Lance was the one to break it. “Hatred isn’t a very good thing…”

“You don’t understand,” Keith said, sounding bitter.

“Isn’t Galra City a safe haven for demons and half-demons? I thought-”

“That’s why it’s such a shithole,” Keith spat, glaring at some point further than the room. 

Grimacing, Lance decided it was probably time to go. This whole interaction, though enlightening to the fact that half-demons were probably not all that bad, was extremely awkward. “Well,” he said, slapping his hands on his knees. He pushed himself to his feet. “I should probably be going.”

“What?” said Keith, the anger gone from him instantly. Instead, he seemed dumbfounded. Lance thought it was cute that he was so confused.

“I’ve got things I should be doing,” Lance informed him. “I’ll see you around, I guess. And you go to my college, right? So I suppose I could stop being angelically prejudiced and come talk to you-”

“Wait!” cried Keith. His hand shot out to grab Lance’s wrist, halting him as he turned to grab his boots. Lance turned to look down at him, startled. “Don’t go,” Keith added.

Lance could feel that strange pull again, the desire to stay and try to get to know this half-demon a little better. But that was easy to ignore when he saw the desperation in Keith’s face. His eyes were wide and shining, the strange mix of blue and purple gleaming in the better lighting. Almost hidden at his side, his hand was clenched into a fist. Now that he had stopped talking, Lance could see that his jaw was clenched, waiting for a rejection. How could Lance leave when Keith clearly needed someone right now?

“Okay…” Lance replied, speaking slowly as he lowered himself back to the couch. He had barely settled when Keith pulled on his wrist. Surprised, Lance fell towards him, and Keith’s arms wrapped around him, mindful of his wings, drawing him into a hug Lance had never expected.

“Thank you,” said Keith, muffled by Lance’s shoulder. “I just… need y- someone right now.”

“Oh. Okay.” Lance hesitantly put his arms around Keith’s waist, avoiding his wings as much as possible. Their wings were sensitive to touch, after all, more so than the full angels and demons. He didn’t know what would happen to Keith if he accidentally brushed against them.

After another few seconds, they drew away from each other. However, Keith stayed within Lance’s space, his face close as he looked at Lance. Both of them looked at each other, breathing in tandem. Keith’s eyes flicked to and fro, taking in Lance’s face. Lance watched him, wondering what he was doing, what was going on. Then, without warning, Keith leaned forward and kissed Lance, his lips pressed firmly against the angel’s. 

A muffled noise escaped Lance, and his hand came up to Keith’s upper arm, gripping at his sleeve there. It didn’t last long; it was chaste and almost sweet, and Keith began to draw away all too soon. There were tingles left on Lance’s lips, tingles that travelled through his body, awakening other parts of him in quick succession. His heart was suddenly beating far too fast and his head seemed to spin a little: his first kiss had been stolen in such a sudden way.

“Sorry,” murmured Keith, still close, his eyes dark as Lance stared at him. “I…”

“What… What did you do that for?” Lance demanded, breathless.

“I couldn’t help myself,” Keith told him, a lazy smile gracing his face. “You’re just far too pretty.”

Lance could feel the heat in his cheeks. “That was my first kiss!” he protested, though what he was protesting, he didn’t know.

Keith blinked. “Really?”

“_Yes_. I don’t go around _ k-kissing _ people.”

“I thought people would go around kissing you.”

“Sheesh,” Lance grumbled, frowning at Keith. “You’re really obsessed with my looks, aren’t you?”

“Your winning personality is definitely a factor, too.”

“Lying is a sin,” Lance commented.

“Are you inventing new ones now?” Keith asked, looking rather amused. “Anyway, was that really your first kiss?”

“Like I said, I haven’t fallen in love, so I’ve never kissed anyone. I want to get into the Academy, so I have to keep myself pure.” Lance paused and raised his fingers to his lips, wondering at how they still tingled faintly. “Maybe that’s already spoiled me…”

“I doubt that,” Keith said. “Kissing isn’t a sin. Besides, that was barely a kiss.”

“What? But it felt…” Trailing off, Lance glanced away, focussing on the coffee table. 

“If you’d like, I can show you a better kiss.”

Surprised, Lance looked back at Keith. With wondering eyes, he looked over Keith’s faint smile, his focussed eyes, the sincerity in his expression. “I… don’t know…”

Slowly, Keith raised his hand to Lance’s face until the tips of his fingers brushed Lance’s cheek. “It won’t matter,” Keith told him, his dark eyes flitting over Lance’s face. “It’s just a kiss. The angels can’t hate something like that.”

“Angels don’t hate at all,” Lance retorted. “We can’t. We’re not allowed.”

“Then, what does it matter, if I kiss you again?”

Lance stared. Keith was right, he supposed. Kissing was a form of displaying love, after all. He had always refused to kiss people because he was worried he would give in to curiosity and let it go too far. But he had just been kissed and nothing bad seemed to have happened. Maybe he had been worrying for nothing. And there might not be love shared between him and Keith, but perhaps the lack of emotion would help to keep things pure, in a sense.

“Okay…” he said, slowly.

“Are you sure?” Keith asked, voice gentle and understanding. It made Lance’s chest squeeze and he nodded, too surprised to speak.

Carefully, sweetly, Keith cupped Lance’s face properly. It was such a tender gesture that Lance’s eyes fluttered shut, his wing tips shifting with the joy. Keith pulled Lance towards him, and Lance went willingly; his lips parted slightly on a breath and his heart beating far faster than normal. Nevertheless, he ignored it all, waiting for a touch.

When it came, Lance realised it was a lot like the first one, a soft press of lips against lips. Tingles spread once more and he pushed down a pleased noise. Enjoying himself, Lance pressed against Keith and the firmer touch made Lance hum. Keith answered with one of his own before he shifted his head. Their noses brushed as he did so; it sent a strange sensation down to Lance’s chest. Then Keith began to move his lips and that feeling in Lance’s chest spread.

He didn’t know why, but the simple act of moving their lips together, pressing against each other before moving their mouths together in a different way was better than he could have imagined. What breaths he could get fell against Keith’s and were swallowed by them both as they moved in for more. His hands found themselves in Keith’s shirt, clinging to him, to something grounding. Lance felt as if he could float straight up to the gates of Heaven, where no angel had been since the Banishment. Maybe he could see God. Whatever the case, his wings seemed to agree with that sentiment and, since he had shifted sideways at some point, his wings spread out behind him, unconsciously ready to launch him into the air. 

Any time he managed to open his eyes, half-lidded, Lance could see Keith’s handsome face. His eyelashes fluttered against his cheeks, long and delicate; his pretty eyes were dark and hooded; his wings were high above him, not spread like Lance’s, but hunched together, the sleek feathers beautiful; the small horns that stuck out of his head were cute, nestled in the strands of black hair. Keith’s hands had landed on Lance’s hips, holding him still with a loose grip. That grip tightened when Keith pushed forward a little more. Startled, Lance opened his mouth a little, a moan slipping out as he felt himself slide backwards.

Keith was quick to react to that: before Lance could close his mouth again, Keith’s tongue slipped between his parted lips, just enough for Lance to feel it. Lance stilled, unsure. But, when Keith lifted a hand to cup his cheek, Lance relaxed, enjoying the sensation of Keith’s thumb rubbing over his cheek. His own tongue flicked against Keith’s, a quick pass over the tip. Taking that as the approval it was, Keith pushed his tongue in further, pressing against Lance’s. Their heads tilted at a new angle and the kiss continued, this time with tongues and shared spit.

They barely stopped for breath, and, to Lance, everything narrowed down to what they were doing. Where they were and who he was with and what he was doing was forgotten in favour of the heat and slickness of their tongues dancing together. Lips pressed against lips. Small noises - moans and groans and slurping - filled Lance’s head, heightening the wonderful experience. Heat spread from every place he and Keith touched, each brush of Keith’s thumb bringing further sparks that spread through his body. That warmth spread lower and lower and lower-

Gasping, Lance pulled away and shoved Keith away from him slightly. He could feel a string of saliva hanging from his bottom lip, but Lance stayed very still, too alarmed to move. “I-” he said between heaving breaths.

“What’s wrong?” asked Keith, also breathless. In fact, Keith also looked as dazed as Lance felt, though he was quickly coming back to himself, likely not as affected as Lance was.

“I’m-I’m hot,” Lance told him, feeling dizzy with the realisation. A kiss could make him feel like _ that_? “I have to go.”

“What? Why?” Keith grabbed hold of his wrist, though his grip was loose and Lance could easily break away if he really wanted to. He didn’t and so he stayed seated; he hadn’t even moved when he declared his intentions.

Blinking at Keith, Lance waited till his thoughts had cleared enough for him to explain. They were still muddied by that horrible heat between his legs. “I need to- I have to go for a shower.”

“Right now?” Keith demanded, brow furrowed deeply. He looked offended.

“I need- a cold shower…”

“What-?” Keith stopped and shifted backwards a little, just enough to be able to look down. Startled, Lance curled over himself, trying to hide the obvious. But it was too late, even as he hunched over, wings spread to keep his balance, his knees rising so that he wobbled on the cushion, his feet barely underneath him. Keith watched him and shook his head, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder. “You don’t need to do that.”

“I can’t- I shouldn’t do this.”

“Do what?” asked Keith, one eyebrow raised high. “Get hard?”

Lance made a high-pitched noise. “_Don’t say it_!” he hissed. “I’m supposed to be pure - I’m an angel, and I need to get into the Academy and-”

“Wait. Do you _ never _ get hard?”

“_Why are you saying that again_?!” Lance took a breath: the heat had left his body, except for that point between his legs where it throbbed dangerously. “And, I mean… I have. Before. But I’m _ not supposed to_.”

“You do realise you’re half-human, right?” Keith pointed out, voice dry.

“So?”

“Humans get hard all the time.”

Lance gave him a look. “Uh huh.”

“You know what I mean,” said Keith, rolling his eyes. “This is natural. You don’t need to be… I dunno, _ ashamed _ of it.”

Turning his head, Lance stared at the wall. “Whatever,” he mumbled, a little petulantly.

“And I don’t think it’s really healthy to just take cold showers all the time,” Keith added. Suddenly, he leaned towards Lance who tried to back off and ended up falling backwards, his wings caught up on the arm of the couch. One ended up trapped under him while the other flapped, grazing the remaining boxes. “I can help you with that.”

“What? No!” Lance exclaimed. He put his hand on the back of the couch and began to pull himself up, but Keith was so close that he couldn’t sit up properly. Lance stared at him and watched as Keith’s hand reached up to his face again.

“Seriously. I-I think-”

“No!” Lance grabbed Keith’s wrist. They ended up with Lance lying on the couch and Keith hovering over him, face close to Lance’s. “If I do that, I’ll Fall.”

“Do wha-? Oh, no,” said Keith, quickly shaking his head. “I only meant that I could show you how to masturbate.”

Again, Lance stared at Keith, dumbfounded. “What? No. I know how to do it. I’m just not going to - that would be disgusting and-”

“Then let me do it for you,” Keith insisted. “I’ll only use my hand, and it won’t ‘taint’ you, or whatever you’re worried about. It’ll be purely… aiding you, I suppose.”

“‘Aiding me’?” Lance gazed at Keith’s eyes, dark and intense. “Really?”

“You can call it whatever you want, Lance.”

For some reason, his name on Keith’s lips had a shiver running up Lance’s spine. His free wing twitched. He bit his lip, the debate raging in his head. If he were to let Keith do what he was suggesting… would that be okay? Would the great archangel, Alfor, let him into the Academy if he had given into his desires like that? Would he actually Fall or was that reserved for only full angels?

Would it feel good?

Caught on that thought, Lance slowly let himself relax. “Okay,” he murmured, glancing down towards his groin. “I- Yeah.”

“You-” Keith straightened, giving Lance enough room to push himself up. “You want to?”

“Yeah. I- L-Let’s just get this over with - before I change my mind.”

Keith smiled, looking equal parts pleased and relieved. “Come on,” he said as he stood. “Let's take this upstairs.”

“Why?” asked Lance, but he let Keith pull him to his feet. He nearly collapsed back to the couch when his clothing brushed over him, against that heat. Thankfully, Keith caught all of his weight and held him upright.

“Because Shiro would kill me if I did it here.”

“Oh.”

Lance let himself be pulled back to the hall and towards the stairs. A brief glance towards the back door was all he allowed himself as he wondered if he'd made the right choice. But another movement made his breath catch when his jeans brushed against him and he ignored that escape in favour of climbing the stairs. He forced his gaze to Keith's wings, the feathers sleek and pretty where they were folded against his back.

Upstairs was much like below: boxes had been shoved to the walls; no decorations or mementos had been hung; darkness kept any loose objects from view. Keith wasted no time in heading to a room at the back of the house, the furthest from the stairs. With a glance over his shoulder at the only apparent way out, Lance tried not to feel trapped. Thankfully, his trepidation was assuaged when Keith put on his room light as they walked in.

It was utter chaos. Clothes had been strewn across the floor and bed. Two boxes had been stacked in a messy pile, one corner of the top box almost at a right angle from the bottom. Drawers had been left open and the wardrobe's doors were hanging off, hinges wrenched from wood. A desk had been covered in papers that were in a massive pile. Small items – pens, keys, hairbrush – were lying everywhere, littered amongst the clothes.

“Did a bomb go off?” asked Lance, startled at the mess.

“I was looking- for the ritual...” Keith admitted. “Sorry.”

Seemingly self-conscious, Keith let go of Lance's hand and lurched forward, grabbing clothes and throwing them at the wardrobe. Some of them actually landed inside, but most became a pile just in front of it. Keith made a path to the bed where he proceeded to shove everything off of it and onto the floor. Once done, he turned and looked at Lance, apparently waiting for him to move towards him.

Hesitant and unsure, Lance glanced down at the clear floor. If he went any closer, Lance realised, he wouldn't back out of what was about to happen. He could turn around now and go back home, have a cold shower, and then work on his garden while Keith went to the apothecary for the hell flower. But, if he did that, would he ever find out how it would feel to have Keith's hands on him, to have his mouth on his as he let himself go...?

With a deep breath, Lance took a step forward.

Keith watched Lance move closer, a small, encouraging smile on his face. When Lance reached him, Keith lifted his hand to Lance's face. “Are you ready?”

“I... think so,” Lance murmured. He let his eyes fall closed and he leaned into Keith's touch. His hand was warm and gentle.

“Do you want to take your clothes off, or would you rather keep them on?”

Lance's eyes flew open. “Wha-? I... I don't- You can't just _ ask _ that!”

Looking rather amused, Keith said, “I have to. I don't want to-” Keith seemed to falter, his eyes flicking away from Lance. “I don't want to make you uncomfortable.”

“I... What's the... easiest?” Lance asked, his own gaze lowering, away from Keith's pretty eyes.

For a moment, Keith was silent, contemplating. Then he said, “You should take your clothes off. I-I will, too.”

“Okay,” breathed Lance, unable to look up at him.

They both hesitated for a moment more. Then Keith moved, and Lance could see his hands reaching for his belt. Startled, Lance spun around, his cheeks burning. For a moment, he pressed a hand to his chest, his heart pounding way too hard. Then, his determination returning, he began to remove his clothes. He started with his bottom half, as he always did: the moment he peeled away his underwear to drop to the floor with the rest of them, Lance felt an undeniable relief as he was freed. His tunic, however, was trickier to remove, as he had to unhook it from around his wings: the material was looped around his waist and neck while other parts went over the wings, as if they were straps that had been pulled over his shoulder and under his arm. The item of clothing had been designed for angels and demons, but it was more usual to see angels using it than demons. Considering Keith's leather jacket and black shirt, demons tended to buy 'cool' clothes and rip them to fit their wings through it.

“Do you need some help?” Keith suddenly asked Lance from right behind him.

Startled, Lance dropped the clip he'd been fumbling with. As his mind had wandered, he had managed to unhook his left side, but his right, as always, was giving him trouble. “I...” Lance was going to tell Keith that he could manage undressing on his own, when he felt the brush of a hand. He gasped and held still, wide-eyed.

Fingers brushed against Lance's back, avoiding his wings, but just barely. They were hot pinpricks of faint touches that burned a path to the clip Lance had been struggling with. Carefully, the half-demon released the half-angel's clothing. They both let the fabric drop so that Keith was facing Lance's bare body. Lance's wings quivered, waiting for something to happen. When it did, it wasn't anything he had been expecting.

Lips pressed to Lance's neck. It was a soft touch, incredibly sweet, and Lance couldn't help relaxing a little. Those lips slid downwards, pressing another kiss between his shoulder blades – between his wings. The soft press of them was accompanied by the wet brush of Keith's tongue. Lance gasped in surprise, his fingers wiggling, his wings twitching. Then the lips moved again, this time heading to the base of Lance's right wing. He could do nothing but stretch his wings outwards, only avoiding Keith because he had a certain degree of flexibility. Something sharp nipped at the skin beside his wing. Keith’s face or hand brushed lightly against his feathers. Lance let out a low groan and arched his back, wanting more – more of everything.

With a start, Lance came back to himself and stepped forward, away from Keith's questing mouth. “W-What-?” he said, turning to look at Keith.

That was a mistake, as Lance could now see what Keith looked like without his clothes. There were a lot of muscles, all well-defined. It looked as though Keith worked out and it was immensely _ hot_. It was the only thing that Lance could think to describe it as his own body filled with warmth, all of it heading downwards and making him throb with _ need _. Keith's hair brushed his shoulders, tantalisingly teasing in the way the strands moved over skin. Lance suddenly wanted to run his fingers through it, wanted to feel how soft it was. He resisted, though, but only because he chose that moment to glance down and his jaw dropped.

Demons, Lance knew, were just like angels in that they looked like humans while on Earth. They may have looked more majestic or horrifying in the olden days or while they were in Heaven and Hell, but on Earth, even before the Banishment, angels and demons took on a more human appearance. That usually extended to all parts of their bodies. In fact, a lot of the time, they looked average so that they could blend in. The only exception to that were archangels and the lust demons, incubi and succubi. While succubi had bigger breasts, Lance had heard that incubi also had bigger... genitals.

And Keith had one that was bigger than Lance had been expecting, especially with the way it was standing to attention.

Nervous, Lance looked away, staring at the bed. “Um. I… Do you want me to-? ’Cause, I-”

“It’s okay,” said Keith. “We’re only here to help you. I just… I thought it would be more comfortable for you if you weren’t the only one without any clothes on? Just ignore, uh, this…” His cheeks turned red as he spoke, clearly just as embarrassed as Lance felt.

“Oh. Okay.”

There was an awkward pause. “You, uh, you can sit down,” Keith suggested. “Then I can stroke you, right?”

“Right…”

Lance lowered himself carefully to the bed, his legs pressed together, still uncertain despite what he had just agreed to. It did nothing to hide his own situation, but it made him feel a little better. He let his wings spread out behind him, trying to use their easy sprawl to comfort him. Leaning back on his hands, Lance watched Keith perch on the edge of the bed, angled towards him. His heart, which had already been beating quite fast, sped up.

“You need to let me in,” Keith told him. He said it while looking into Lance’s eyes and, somehow, that made Lance feel better. It was as if Keith, with his sincere gaze and careful attentions, really cared about Lance’s well being.

So, with a strained smile, Lance spread his legs a little. The action alone made him feel strange, both relieved and worried. Was this really going to help him? Keith’s pleased smile answered for him and he watched as Keith reached out. He bit his lip as Keith’s hand drew closer and had to close his eyes when there was an inch between their skin.

Something grabbed him and Lance gasped. His eyes flew open and he stared down at himself at a sight he had never seen before. A hand was holding him in a place no hand had been before, except when he peed. Even then, he didn’t tend to look at himself while he did that, only where he was aiming. Now, though, his hot skin was made hotter by this grip.

His chest was heaving when he looked up at Keith. “Okay?” the half-demon asked. Lance nodded and bit his lip, waiting for Keith to move.

And move he did. Finger’s curled gently around Lance in a firm grip, Keith moved his hand up and then down, slowly, carefully. The sensation of friction had Lance’s head falling back as he gripped the bedsheet below him. His mouth fell open and he sucked in shaky breaths, each one making his chest rise and fall dramatically. He bit his lip to keep from making a sound. If he moaned, would that sully him?

Suddenly, Keith’s thumb swept over the tip, a barely there feeling that made Lance gasp. Keith seemed to think that meant that Lance liked it - and Lance did - and quickly did it a few more times. Lance’s entire body tensed, trying to keep from moving into Keith’s hand. If he did that, would he be tainted?

Another hand - Keith’s other hand - slid along Lance’s inner thigh. Shivers ran up and down Lance’s spine and his wings twitched a little. They began to flap when Keith let his hand fall between Lance’s legs and underneath where his other hand had gone back to stroking, his thumb pressing occasionally into Lance’s tip. When Keith touched Lance’s sack, Lance’s entire body jolted before he went incredibly still. He was panting by that point, his heart hammering, blood pounding in his ears. Keith stopped for just a moment, before he began stroking Lance faster, his other hand massaging him just below. Lance made a strangled sound, muffled by his lips where they were pressed together. Again, his body tensed, all his muscles locked as he refused to move, his hands pulling at the bedclothes.

“You need to relax,” Keith told him, his voice low and… and sultry? It made another shudder run through Lance, his wings flapping arrhythmically. “Just let go, Lance. It’ll feel good, I swear.”

“But-” Lance managed to get out through gritted teeth.

“You’re an angel,” said Keith, his gaze catching Lance’s when he opened his eyes enough to see. “Nothing you do to your own body can be impure. This… This is just worshipping- God, I suppose.”

Lance stared at Keith. “God?” he asked, incredulous.

Rolling his eyes, Keith waved a dismissive hand. “You know what I mean. Relax.”

With some hesitance, Lance did as he was told. He stopped trying to hold back his climax and, somehow, it seemed less imminent. Most of his muscles relaxed and his grip on the sheets loosened. Of course, with Keith’s hands still on him, his hips twitched with aborted attempts to move into his grip and the friction that was there. It felt good, better than it had been to begin with. Still, he bit his lip to keep from making a wanton sound.

After a minute or so, Keith drew his hands away. Lance whined involuntarily and looked over to the demon, trying not to frown. “What is it?” he demanded.

“There’s something else you can do to make yourself feel like this,” Keith told him.

“What do you mean?”

“Well…” Keith’s hand disappeared again, this time dipping even lower. A finger traced along Lance’s skin, heading down, down, down, until- 

Gasping, Lance’s eyes widened as Keith’s finger pressed against his hole. _ No-one _ had ever touched him there before and it felt… strange. Wrong but also, with all the pleasure still throbbing throughout his body from his groin, it felt so _ right_. His entire body jerked as he made some sort of aborted movement. That resulted in him slipping backwards a little, and he grabbed hold of Keith’s shoulder to keep from falling backwards completely. Meanwhile, his wings twitched and shook; Lance barely stopped himself from wrapping his wings around them both.

“What- What are you doing?” Lance asked, shifting away from Keith a little, just enough that he couldn’t feel his finger. His entire body mourned the touch and he couldn’t decide if that was a good or bad thing. 

“It’s a way of masturbat-”

“No!” Lance shrieked, pushing himself backwards so that there was more space between him and Keith. “Don’t _ say _ that!”

“That’s what we’re doing,” Keith said, raising an eyebrow. “Or, well, what I’m showing you how to do. Let me get the lube and I can show you how good it feels.” He stood from the bed and began to make his way around Lance to the bedside table.

“We- N- We can’t _ do that_!”

Keith stopped in his tracks and looked down at Lance. “Why not?”

“It’s- That’s more than… I didn’t think you’d go this far,” Lance admitted. “Do I really need to know about… that?”

Tilting his head, Keith smirked at him. Just a little, a small twitch of his lips, but Lance knew then, when his heart skipped a loud beat, that he wasn’t going to leave or stop this. “Don’t you want to know?” Keith asked, voice sly and smooth. Lance stared back at him, took a shaky breath, and slowly nodded. “Then, relax. Lie down; it’ll be easier.”

Slowly, cautiously, Lance lay down, one of his wings lying at a right angle to his body, the other pointed towards the bedside table. He turned his head to watch as Keith rummaged in the drawer before he emerged with a small bottle. Once he’d shut the drawer, he reached over to the head of the bed and grabbed a pillow. Then he returned to where he’d left Lance and sat on the bed beside his body.

“Here,” said Keith, holding the pillow aloft. “Raise your hips.”

Lance did as he was told and watched with bemusement as Keith slid the pillow beneath him. Once he’d lowered himself on top of it, Lance frowned at Keith. “What’s the point of this?”

“Trust me,” said Keith. “You’ll thank me later.”

“I… I was going to, anyway,” Lance replied, embarrassed and probably red in the face. The heat that was still within him made it hard for Lance to tell if his blush was noticeable.

Keith paused, blinking down at him. Then he smiled, a fond thing that made Lance’s heart stop for just a moment. “Well,” said Keith, “you’re welcome.”

He turned away then and Lance watched as Keith popped open the bottle. Lance’s breathing was loud as Keith poured the viscous liquid onto his fingers. It was almost clinical when he turned back to Lance, his fingers rubbing against each other, the clear liquid dribbling down towards his wrist. Keith took hold of Lance’s left leg, just under the knee, and pushed it aside. Lance was just glad that he did angelic gymnastics at school; it made him far more flexible than most people. Taking deep breaths, Lance watched Keith’s slick fingers dropping from his view. His breathing picked up.

“Relax,” Keith murmured. It took Lance a moment to manage that and, as soon as he had, he felt Keith’s finger pressing against his hole, rubbing around the rim and passing over it. Lance tensed for a moment, breath caught, but he grabbed hold of the sheets again and forced himself to exhale. That was when Keith pushed in, his finger sliding in easier than Lance had expected. 

“A-Ah!” Lance exclaimed, his back bowing. He didn’t know whether he was trying to take more of Keith in or if he was trying to get away. His wings flapped without purpose. 

Pausing, Keith waited for Lance to open his eyes again. Their gazes caught. Keith’s expression was strained for just a moment before he smiled again, his face lighting up, much like it had been doing all day. Lance smiled back and could feel how lazy it was, the pleasure making him feel content. Wordlessly, Keith ran a hand up Lance’s side, avoiding his feathers. At the same instant, he pushed his finger further in, in and in, until it could go no further.

To Lance, it felt… strange. He’d never had anything put there before. There was a strange, barely there pain from the stretch of his body trying to accommodate it. At the same time, it felt rather wonderful, as if he’d been hollow and only just filled. Then, as he thought of it, he accidentally and subconsciously used a miracle: the pain disappeared entirely, leaving only the amazing feeling of being full. 

There was a sharp gasp by Lance’s knee and he looked up at Keith in concern. Keith’s eyes were wide as he stared where his finger was attached to Lance. The angel shuddered at the thought of what he could see. “What…?” Lance asked, wondering what was wrong. Then he remembered who Keith was, _ what _ he was, and pushed himself up on one elbow. “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to-”

"It’s okay," Keith quickly said, though he stayed very still. "I just… I've never felt…" Keith paused then, his gaze distant. His jaw was clenched. 

"Keith?" Lance watched the half-demon run his eyes over Lance’s body, lingering on his wings and above his head where his halo was. Keith took a deep breath. Still, he didn’t move, almost frozen where he sat, his finger still inside Lance. "What’s wrong?" Lance asked, confused. 

"Nothing," Keith replied, a little too quickly. Before Lance could question him further, however, Keith crooked his finger inside Lance and made stars explode behind Lance’s eyes. Pleasure and heat unlike anything Lance had ever experienced before shot through him. He cried out, writhing, and gasped when Keith pulled his finger out.

"What-?" was all Lance could manage.

Instead of replying, Keith shoved his finger back in. The shock made Lance’s head fall back, his eyes wide, mouth agape. His wings twitched weakly and his legs jerked apart. He expected Keith to bend his finger again to touch that spot that had caused Lance to lose himself, but Keith merely pulled his finger back out. As he thrust it in and out, Lance breathed heavily, trying to lift his head to look at Keith. 

Something suddenly prodded at Lance’s hole before it pressed in, stretching Lance around another finger. Lance curled in on himself with another cry, his wide eyes staring at Keith before he fell back. Panting, he watched Keith’s arm moving back and forth in a steady rhythm. When Keith pushed his fingers apart, Lance writhed, his head shaking back and forth. There was a pain there, mixed with pleasure - in fact, the pain seemed to _ heighten _ the pleasure.

Lance found himself wanting more of it.

His body relaxed at that realisation, his mind seeming to fracture as he stared up at Keith. The half-demon was staring back at him, his eyes roving over Lance from head to toe. “You’re beautiful like this,” Keith murmured, his voice awed.

Looking up at Keith, Lance knew he would return the sentiment if he could only find his voice. With his muscles shining under the low lighting and his hair left to fall around his head, Lance thought he was the most gorgeous thing he’d ever seen. Keith’s face was flushed, as was the top of his chest which rose and fell just as rapidly as Lance’s did. His eyes, though, glowed with an unnatural yellow light. It filled the whites of his eyes, though Lance could still see the dark irises, a cold juxtaposition to the bright warmth of the glow. Atop his head, Keith’s small horns were smoking, the thin tendrils shifting to and fro as Keith’s body moved minutely. Despite Keith being what he was, Lance felt blessed, the warm feeling spreading from his chest to every part of his body.

Suddenly, Keith twisted his fingers and brushed against that spot within Lance. Surprised, Lance gasped, even as Keith twisted the tips of his fingers away. Lance arched his back and gripped at the sheets again, trying to anchor himself. The tips of his wings fluttered, a little stronger than before. Moaning, Lance reached an arm towards Keith, wanting him closer. 

Keith seemed to understand, as he shuffled closer, his fingers never leaving Lance’s hole. He kept working his fingers in and out and around as he leaned over Lance, his eyes bottomless pits. Lance watched him come closer with lidded eyes, breaths puffing out of his parted lips. Their mouths met and, this time, the kiss was deeper and hotter than ever before. Lance writhed beneath Keith, letting the demon’s tongue ravage his mouth. 

When Keith broke away, he didn’t go far. “Do you want a third finger?” he asked, voice rough.

“Y-Yes!” Lance exclaimed, wondering what it felt like to be stuffed full.

“Okay,” said Keith, and leaned down for another kiss.

It was almost relaxing, something familiar as Lance waited for that stretching pain again. But it never came - not immediately, at least. Keith continued to kiss him and thrust his two fingers into Lance. Slowly, Lance relaxed into it; the constant heat being driven into his body by Keith kept him on the edge of a precipice Lance had never felt before. That was when Keith pushed in a third finger.

Having stretched Lance enough, the extra digit didn’t burn as much as the others had. In fact, it felt _ better _ having all three of them inside. It felt like one thing, thick enough to rub against Lance’s insides which felt heavenly, felt _ right_. Lance let out a little gasp against Keith’s lips and then a hum.

Then Keith brushed against that spot once more and Lance’s eyes flew open. His entire body jerked and Keith pulled away from their kiss, right as Lance moaned, loudly and lewdly. Lance’s wings fluttered lazily, curling up and down as he wriggled, trying to shift against Keith’s fingers. Keith rewarded his efforts by twisting his fingers and pressing against that spot, massaging there. It pushed Lance closer and closer to something that had never happened before. 

“More!” Lance gasped, trying to take the pleasure for himself as he wildly moved his hips back and forth. 

“More what?” Keith asked, his tone teasing. “More fingers? Because I can try, but I’d be fisting you, then.”

Lance’s eyes widened. That sounded so… _ dirty_. Frantically, he shook his head. “N- More, _ please_. Just- Just a- More.” He trailed off into a moan as Keith pressed against that pleasurable place within Lance. 

“You want more, but you don’t want a fist?” Keith asked. Lance hazily looked at him and nodded. Those glowing eyes surveyed him, the unnatural light making it difficult for Lance to work out his expression. But he did notice that Keith hesitated, as if unsure, or as if he was thinking. Keith stopped moving his fingers and, after a couple of tiny bucking motions, Lance stilled as well, waiting, confused and everything within him heightened. Finally, Keith said, “What about my cock? You want that?”

He couldn’t stop himself from thinking of Keith’s… _ genitals_. The image of Keith standing there, bare, showing his- _ thing _ surfaced. Lance found himself wanting to lick it, just for a moment, before he remembered that Keith had asked if he wanted it inside. And, with a shock that made him jolt and twitch, he realised that he _ did _ want that, he _ wanted _ Keith to… take him. 

“I- Yes,” Lance said on a breath. “_Please_.”

“You want me to fuck you, huh, angel?”

Gasping, Lance shook his head. “No, I- I don’t know. Just- Put it in!”

“Sounds like you want it. But…” Keith trailed off, his eyes running down Lance’s body. Lance had to turn his head away from them, his heart pounding more from Keith’s heavy look. “I have an idea,” Keith said.

“What?” asked Lance, rather breathlessly.

“I’ll lie down and you can get on top. It will give you more control,” Keith told him.

“On… On top? I don’t- I don’t understand…”

“Here, I’ll show you.”

And, with that having apparently been decided, Keith pulled his fingers from Lance’s hole. Lance’s eyes went wide at the loss, squirming in his place in a silent pleading for Keith to return to him. Instead, Keith grabbed the bottle of lube and dropped to the bed, rolling onto his back. With a prod and a tight grip on Lance’s opposite hip, he encouraged Lance to roll over onto his hands and knees, crouched over Keith, his wings bunched close to his shoulders to keep from knocking anything over. Another pop signalled the opening of the bottle and Keith poured more onto his hand before reaching down to… touch himself.

Lance was unable to tear his eyes away, his breathing heavy as he watched Keith work. His hand moved up and down, much like it had on Lance. With a flick of his thumb, Keith rubbed at his tip. When Lance chanced a glance up at Keith’s face, it was flushed and smirking. That was when Lance realised that Keith was giving him a show, keeping him interested. Keith arched his back, he moaned, he kept his hand moving, spreading the slick lube over his entire length. 

Involuntarily, Lance’s hips bucked, rubbing his own… member into Keith’s hip.

That seemed to be the sign that Keith was ready, that _ Lance _ was ready. Keith rubbed his hand on the bed and reached for Lance’s hips, pulling him until Lance practically fell on top of him. “Come on,” Keith said, sounding a little impatient. “Just- Put one leg over.”

“You-You mean, like… Like riding a horse?” Lance whispered, trembling from the effort not to simply lose himself and buck against Keith’s body.

“Exactly,” Keith replied, with an unnecessary smirk.

Biting his lip, Lance did as he was told, carefully slinging a leg over Keith’s hips. He had to place his hands on Keith’s chest to keep his balance; the strong muscles under his fingers made him want to leave them there. Instead, once he was seated, Keith’s… thing pressed against his butt, Lance removed them, trying to touch Keith as little as possible. “What now?” he asked, wondering where this was going.

“Now… Here,” said Keith and gripped Lance’s hips. With a strength that Lance hadn’t known he possessed, Keith lifted Lance up slightly until he was hovering over Keith’s lap. To keep his balance, Lance quickly grabbed hold of Keith’s arms, just above his elbows, his breath lost in his surprise. “And now,” Keith said, as Lance fought to keep himself still, his wings flapping softly, “you need to reach down and grab hold of my cock. Then you just-”

“What?!” Lance exclaimed. “No, I- I can’t do that!”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Do you want me inside you or not?”

Hesitating, Lance blinked down at him. His hole was twitching, needy, wanting something inside it. As for the rest of him, his body was barely keeping still, his very being unravelling from all the heat that still coursed through him. “I…” he murmured, barely breathing.

“All you have to do,” said Keith, apparently noticing Lance’s cautiousness, “is sit on it. Let me in, Lance.”

For a moment, Lance just stared into Keith’s glowing eyes. Then he, hesitantly, gingerly, reached behind him and down until he felt his fingers brush against Keith’s… rod, the heat of it surprising him as much as the sticky slipperiness of it. Gripping it loosely, too tentative to squeeze his fingers around Keith, Lance shifted so that his stretched hole hovered over it. Then, biting his lip, Lance lowered himself until the tip nudged against his hole, proving to be _ more _ than Keith’s fingers. Lance swallowed.

“It’s so big,” he said to Keith, almost speaking unconsciously. Yet, he was aware of what he was saying, aware that he wanted to tell Keith more but kept it bottled up.

“It’ll go in,” Keith assured him.

Lance took a deep breath and sank down lower until the tip pushed inside him. He stopped when the burn of the stretch became too much, burning, pushing, pulling him apart. His breathing grew strained, panic on the horizon. Then another unconscious miracle forced the pain aside. It must have also stretched Lance a little more as, when he tentatively pushed down, Keith’s… cock slid in a little easier, each inch a delightful push into him. Beneath him, Keith gasped as Lance dropped down until he was fully seated on Keith’s lap. Lance’s eyelashes fluttered, unable to keep his eyes open when he felt so _ full _ and _ wonderful _ and close to- to _ coming_. 

Breathing heavily, Lance was finally able to open his eyes. He looked down at Keith who was staring back at him. For some reason, Keith looked shocked and surprised. Lance didn’t question it: he was too busy staring at the pretty picture that Keith made. His sleek, black wings were splayed out on the bed in the shape of a ‘V’, the tips above his head. With the relaxed way that Keith lay, they looked as if they were sprawled lazily about him. Those muscles were still enticing and, with Keith’s dick inside him, Lance felt that he had leave to touch him and did so, running his hands down Keith’s chest. He let his fingers linger on Keith’s nipples, brushing lightly over them. Keith’s hair fell to the sheets below, an inky blackness against the cream of his bed.

“You’re glowing,” Keith said in awe.

“You’re beautiful,” Lance countered on a breath.

Keith’s hands, still on Lance’s hips, slid upwards, then back down, until he was rubbing at Lance’s sides. It made Lance relax into him, sighing with bliss. “You’re in control,” Keith reminded him. “You can move now.”

Nodding, Lance braced himself with his knees on the bed and his hands still on Keith’s chest. Slowly, carefully, he pushed himself upwards, gasping at the friction and the glorious feeling of Keith moving within him. He wanted more of it, so much more, so, once he had reached the tip, he let himself drop back down. With his wings tucked in behind him, he was able to use gravity to speed up the thrust. 

He repeated his actions, gradually getting faster. His breathing grew shorter, harsh inhales and exhales. Lance’s chest heaved, his heart pounded, throbbing throughout his body. At his sides, Keith kept his grip on Lance, fingers gentle but grip tight. Keith’s wings twitched with every thrust; Lance could feel his cock throbbing within him and knew that they were both close.

“Hells,” Keith said, voice strained. “You-You feel so good. So _ amazing_. I- _ Fuck _ . You’re so fucking tight, Lance. And-And _ hot _.”

“Well,” Lance replied, gasping. “I already knew I was that last one.”

Blinking, Keith looked at him. Then, slowly, his smile grew, until he let out a bark of laughter. Lance gaped; it completely lit up Keith’s face, transforming him into someone much more carefree than the half-demon had been all day. He wanted to kiss him, the desire coursing through him so much that he let himself fall forward, still moving on Keith’s cock. Their lips met sweetly, Keith’s soft movements making Lance’s chest tighten with emotion. But it quickly melted into something hot and heavy when Lance’s shift in angle helped Keith hit his prostate. Struck with so much pleasure and heat and _ rightness_, Lance gasped and Keith used the moment his lips parted to his advantage. 

Soon, Lance’s senses had narrowed down to everything that Keith was doing to him. The wetness of Keith’s tongue in his mouth. His heart pounded, chest heaved with his gasping breaths. The throb of his own dick, desperately waiting for release, brushing against Keith’s stomach. Friction and fullness. Heat surrounded him, sweat dripped from his hair. His wings spread out to keep his balance and in a gesture meant to convey openness and trust. 

He broke away to gasp out words. “I-I’m gonna-”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Keith groaned, thrusting up into Lance now. Lance wasn’t sure when he’d started doing that, but it made everything _ better _ . “You’re so good for me, on my cock- So _ hot _ and _ tight_!”

Lance trembled. He needed just a little more; he was right on the brink. “You-You’re filling me up, Keith,” he rambled. “It-It feels- _ More_.”

“More, huh?” said Keith and, without waiting a moment longer, he tightened his grip on Lance and thrust up once more, harder than before.

That was what pushed Lance over the edge. The pressure became too much and he bucked as it was released, all over Keith’s chest and, as he continued to move, unable to stop, it splattered over his own stomach as well. Shocked at the intense pleasure that flooded him, Lance dropped himself down on Keith’s cock, clenching around him as he tried to breathe. Keith came then, filling Lance’s insides with liquid warmth. It felt wonderful, even as a minor miracle cleaned it all up and left them merely sweaty instead of sticky with cum. 

All of Lance’s energy seemed to desert him, and he flopped over and to the side. Both of them winced when Keith’s dick slipped out of him. Lance kept his wings tucked close as he ended up facing Keith, one leg still slung over Keith’s waist. Happiness made his wings flutter behind him and the urge to close the sudden distance between them had him shuffling over. He watched Keith’s chest rising and falling rapidly; Lance’s own breathing was almost as fast. Lance vaguely wondered if Keith’s heart was beating quickly too, and raised his hand to press it against Keith’s chest. It pleased him to feel it, rabbit-quick, under the flat of his palm. He smiled and glanced up to catch Keith’s gaze when the half-demon’s head turned.

Keith’s eyes were back to normal and they were filled with sadness; his expression had gone from bliss to pained and regretful and guilty in a matter of seconds.

Pushing himself up onto an elbow, Lance looked down at him, trying to get a better look at him. “What is it?” he asked. “What’s wrong?”

The half-demon bit his lip and glanced away. As soon as their gazes caught each other’s again, Keith said, “I’m sorry, Lance.”

“What? Why?” But, even as he said it, Lance’s consciousness began to scream at him, the thoughts he had ignored beginning to come back into focus. 

Before he could listen to them, Keith said, very quietly, heart-wrenchingly, “I Tempted you.”

Lance froze. He stared at Keith; he knew that his eyes were wide and his mouth had fallen open. That strange pull he had felt towards Keith hadn’t been his imagination nor a connection waiting to be made. No, Lance had wholly and inadvertently _ Fallen _ to _ Temptation_. He was probably already in the process of Falling - his wings were probably turning black right this second. Resisting the urge to look (something he should have done in the first place), Lance forced himself to focus on Keith’s grimace.

Brow furrowed, Lance pushed himself upright and glowered down at Keith with righteous fury. “You-! _ How could you_?!”

“Please, Lance, I didn’t want to-”

“Oh, you didn’t?” snapped Lance.

“No, look, there’s a reason I was forced to-”

“_‘Forced’_?!”

Keith’s eyes widened. “No, that’s not what I meant!” he exclaimed, sitting up as well. He reached for Lance but Lance batted his hand away, shrinking away from the foul creature that sat before him. “There was a reason- Look, just- This was the better option!”

Lance pushed himself away from Keith, making sure there was more distance between himself and his mistake. “You- You _ monster _ ! Do you just go around invading angelic communities and forcing them all to Fall?! I’m supposed to go to the Acad-!” Lance broke off, the sudden realisation that he was never going to be able to walk the halls with his biological father hitting him. His half-sister would hate him. The rest of his family would be so disappointed. He’d let everyone down because of a _ demon _.

“I didn’t have a choice!” Keith told him. The demon’s eyes were wild, a little yellow at the edges. He almost seemed panicked, as if what Lance thought of him was of consequence to him. It made Lance furious and he narrowed his eyes.

“You _ chose _ to Tempt me.” Lance stopped and snorted, lowering his gaze to the rumpled sheets. “ _ I _ chose to help you and you did _ this _ to me. I should have left you to rip up your garden, _ alone_.”

With those last words, Lance glanced up and saw Keith flinch. He looked horrified for a mere moment before his brow lowered. Somehow, Lance could see his eyes dull, as if he had just lowered a portcullis. “I only Tempted you to come to me. The rest was all _ you_. You were the one who wanted-”

“Shut up!” snapped Lance. He glared at Keith and the demon glowered back. They stayed like that for a moment before Lance pushed away from him, sliding off the bed. Once he stood, naked, Lance wrapped his arms around his middle. “Whether- _ You _ knew what you were doing.”

That made Keith grimace. He took a deep breath. “Lance-”

“No,” Lance said, shortly. He turned from Keith and looked around the room, searching for his clothes, desperate to get away. But their clothes were strewn across the floor and, with Keith’s eyes still on him, Lance wanted nothing more than to get away. Lance needed to get home, to get to the bathroom, to have a shower and scrub away the taint. Maybe he could pluck any blackened feathers before they infected the rest of him. Shuddering, Lance gave up on his clothes and clicked his fingers, using his angelic magic in a minor spell. A toga suddenly covered his body from prying eyes, the soft, silken material draped over one shoulder. It hung down to mid-thigh, covering him just enough from those whose eyes would wander. The spell was one all angels and half-angels knew, one Lance only used in emergencies.

This felt like one now. 

“Wait-” Keith started, moving on the bed.

However, Lance stayed turned from him. He couldn’t look at Keith. Disgust and dread filled him and Lance could feel tears pricking at his eyes. Holding them at bay, Lance turned his head just enough to speak to Keith. “No. I don’t want to look at you anymore. Don’t you dare come near me again.”

“We live next-”

“I don’t want to _ hear _ you!” Lance shouted over him, his hands clenched into fists, so tight his nails dug into his skin.

When he received no other response, Lance stalked from the room. Only when he knew he was out of sight did Lance run down the stairs and, when he got back to the garden, he launched himself into the air. He flew to his bedroom window and squeezed through it, hoping he could hide his failure and disgrace from his parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I put enough hints, but I do want to say that Lance very much wanted to do that. Maybe he was Tempted into it, but it's not as if he had had to stop himself from thinking that sort of thing for weeks beforehand...
> 
> That doesn't sound good, but if I say why it's only really mildly dubious consent, then I'll be spoiling the rest of the story. Which includes Galra City, demons, Sendak, Lotor, a prophecy, Alfor is actually alive (but for how long), Pidge and Hunk being human but probably having wings...
> 
> Oh, and an overdue kidnapping.
> 
> This is probably one of the last things I'll be posting till after November.


	2. Deliver Us From evil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't really know much about DC and my Batman knowledge comes from the films I've seen...
> 
> Also: I totally Googled 'evil businesses' and this is not my own opinion...

For what felt like the thousandth time, Lance ran his fingers through his feathers, checking for any blackened ones. Despite all of the time he had spent doing so, he still couldn’t find any. Which, on the one hand, was an excellent thing; no-one would know what had happened. On the other, though… 

Why couldn’t he find any? He had been corrupted by Keith’s Temptation, so it should have shown by now. Would it pop up in a few weeks, right when he was going to enter the Academy? Should he tell someone? Was his halo still there or had it vanished completely?

Lance breathed a sigh of relief when, after staring hard into the mirror, he spotted the faint outline of the halo. He still had a halo and fully white wings. It only befuddled him all the more. Why hadn’t he begun the Fall? And the only ones who he could talk to about this were the very people he didn’t want to know.

Clicking his tongue, Lance left the bathroom and headed to his room, intent on grabbing his bag before he left for the day. It had been a whole 24 hours since the incident with Keith and he was still mulling over his corruption. He was also, disgustingly, dwelling on the… _ pleasure _ that he had experienced. Lance’s lip curled as he bent to grab his bag. Since he had returned home, he’d had several showers and groomed his feathers appropriately. Not only that, but his chest hurt and he felt like crying. 

Thankfully, Hunk and Pidge were willing to meet him. Although, with their current project, that was likely because they wanted to see the way that Lance’s wings moved yet again. The distraction would be welcome, however, so he checked he had his phone, his wallet, his keys and, with a wave to his sister who was lounging on the couch, he stepped out into the sunshine. 

Smiling, Lance tipped his head back to let the sun kiss his skin. Above him, a particularly fluffy white cloud floated by. It made him wonder about the closed-off Heaven. Even if the other angels had no way of knowing about his misdeeds, would God? And would he be rejected from his true resting place when he died? With a shudder, he dropped his head and began to make his way down the path to the sidewalk.

Unfortunately, Lance had decided to walk - which meant he had to pass by Shiro and Keith’s house. He could, of course, get there quicker by flying. However, he didn’t want to tempt fate and actually Fall when his wings suddenly showed their corruption. Besides, he was in the mood for soothing his human side by acting like one for once. Even though he tried his best to act like an angel, there were times when he wanted to see what humans saw. Their cars, their amusement parks, their walks through the parks. Today was a day for a walk, Lance had decided.

As he passed the offending house, he sent a glare in its direction. He was sure he saw a curtain twitch, but he ignored it and turned his attention across the road. There, a half-angel couple smiled and waved at him. Lance waved back and watched as they stretched their wings wide and, with a powerful stroke each, launched themselves into the air. Slowing to a stop, Lance watched them go, catching sight of an angel in a suit flying by in the opposite direction. It made a smile bloom on his face; the world was full of wonders and he adored it.

That was probably why he was only able to hear the rustle of wings from behind him at the last second. Startled, Lance jerked and started to turn. Before he could see who was there, the person grabbed him, their arm wrapped around his waist. Lance opened his mouth to cry out, but a hand was slapped over his face, their fingers digging into his cheeks and a piece of cloth stopping him from making any noise. He was pulled back and stumbled into a firm chest, his wings pressed against the person only briefly before they shifted out of his way, apparently respectful of his extra appendages.

“Mmph?!!” was all Lance managed to say.

“Don’t panic,” murmured the person and Lance immediately recognised the voice. Twisting in his hold, Lance managed to turn his head enough to give Keith a wide-eyed look. The demon’s eyes were dark and wild, his expression just as panicked as Lance’s likely looked. With a questioning look, Lance tried to telepathically ask Keith just what he thought he was doing, despite knowing that it wasn’t possible. Still, Keith grimaced before he pushed his magic into the piece of cloth which, as it lit up, Lance realised must hold demonic runes. His panic grew as he felt a sense of weariness overtake him and, slowly, he passed out, staring at Keith all the while.

“I’m sorry,” was the last thing that Lance heard Keith say.

* * *

Trees. Fields of corn or wheat. Cool air. Some sort of old rock music covered up by the sound of a car. Quiet swearing. Soft material against his arm and his cheek pressed into cool glass. 

Slowly, Lance realised that he was awake, his eyes fluttering as his consciousness swam up from the depths it had sunk. Confused, he stared out of the window, watching as another copse of trees flashed by. When a field opened up on the other side, Lance realised that he was no longer in town, beyond the reach of his human family and friends. The roar of the engine changed as they turned a corner and Lance’s heart began to pound. Who was in the car with him? Why had he been asleep in the middle of the day? Where were they going?

Then his memories returned to him. Being grabbed, Keith’s voice, the spell that had knocked him out… Suppressing a shudder, Lance tried to turn his head to check that he was with the half-demon and hadn’t been passed onto a full demon. If he had, he would be in deep trouble. Thankfully, when he looked, he saw that it was indeed Keith who was muttering another swear. This one seemed to be directed at Lance’s alertness, since Keith was already watching Lance when the half-angel looked over. Their eyes met and Lance wished his luck had been better; there was no way that he could feign sleep now.

Instead, he sat bolt upright, twisting until he could free his wings enough to spread them a little in a hopefully intimidating display. “What on Earth are you doing?!” he demanded, voice loud and hoarse in the enclosed space. Grimacing, he paused to cough and Keith took the opportunity to speak.

“Look, I’m sorry, okay?” Keith told him, looking back at the road. “I had to.”

“‘_Had to_’?!” Lance exclaimed, uncaring if he hurt Keith’s ears with his volume. “You’ve _ kidnapped me_! What part of that is something you _ have to _ do?!”

“It’s… It’s hard to explain,” Keith mumbled as he changed gears.

“Well, you better explain _ now _ or pull over. I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“Lance, please-”

“No,” Lance snapped. “You don’t get to- You don’t get to _ Tempt me _ into Falling and then take me on a trip somewhere.”

“It’s not really a trip,” said Keith with a grimace. “And you haven’t Fallen at all - which is why- It’s… Look.” Keith took a long look at the straight road in front of them before he turned to lock his gaze with Lance’s. His dark, oddly coloured eyes pierced him with a desperate determination that made Lance hold his breath to hear Keith’s final words. “This is my last resort, I swear.”

Confused, Lance blinked. “What are you talking about?”

“They… Shiro didn’t come home. Two weeks ago,” Keith explained, slowly and with great reluctance. Lance got the impression that Keith didn’t want to admit anything to him. “I _ need _ to do this, or…”

“Woah, wait, what?!” Lance exclaimed, leaning towards Keith. The new position had the added benefit of lifting his wings from his back. The wing indent in the seats was down, thankfully, and Lance let his wings slide behind him. He spared but a moment to luxuriate in the feeling of being able to stretch them out before he returned his attention to Keith. “Shi- Taka- Mister Shirogan-”

“Just call him Shiro,” said Keith with a small, amused smile.

“Then… Right. Shiro’s missing? And you’re here, abducting me?”

“Like I said,” Keith muttered, not looking at Lance now, “I didn’t want to do this. I hoped… But I’ll do anything to get him back, so I need to.”

For a moment, Lance watched Keith. The half-demon refused to look at him, glaring at the road ahead. His hands clutched at the wheel, his knuckles white. A tick in his jaw alerted Lance to the fact that Keith was gritting his teeth. Behind him, his black wings had risen themselves as high as they could; something Lance knew happened to him when he was tense or surprised. Something heavy settled in Lance’s chest and, with a grimace, it moved him to speak.

“Listen, man,” he began, watching the way that Keith’s entire body twitched. “This sounds… serious. Maybe we should talk about this - without getting any closer to where you’re taking me to.”

“Galra City,” Keith murmured.

Lance froze. “Wha-? You can’t take me there!” he exclaimed. Seeing Keith flinch, Lance forced himself to calm down. “What I mean is… Let’s stop somewhere for food, okay? I’m hungry and you can tell me all about Shiro then.”

Keith frowned and glanced over at him. It was almost a relief to see the suspicion in his eyes; his previous avoidance had made Lance feel rather uneasy. “Is this just an excuse to help you escape?” 

Rolling his eyes, Lance gestured at the car door. “I could get out right now with, at the most, a minor miracle and my wings. If I wanted to escape like that, I wouldn’t have bothered saying anything. We’re still hours away from Galra City, right?”

For a moment, Keith’s only acknowledgement of hearing Lance was in his hands. They clenched and unclenched on the steering wheel. Lance had the feeling that Keith was thinking through his options. Finally, Keith sighed and conceded. “Fine. Next rest stop I see, I’ll pull over. We’ll talk then.”

* * *

Thankfully, they only had to wait five minutes before they passed through a small town. Keith pulled into the parking lot of the local diner and they both got out to stretch. Lance was glad to be out of the cramped space, especially since he must have been hunched over for at least an hour or two. He briefly wondered why Keith’s spell hadn’t managed to keep him under for the entire car ride, but he forgot about it in favour of spreading his wings as wide as they could go. Once he’d given them a good few flaps, he turned to go into the diner. 

That was when he noticed that there were some townspeople standing across the road from them, staring. At first, he wondered whether they hadn’t seen a half-angel in person before. Then he noticed the half-angel that was walking further along the street and he realised that it was more likely the half-demon that they hadn’t seen before.

Or the even stranger sight of a half-angel with a half-demon.

Self-conscious, Lance turned from them and hunched over, wondering if anyone he knew would find out about this excursion due to the curiosity of the people here. If anyone found out he had been with Keith… Grimacing, he followed Keith into the diner and to one of the many free booths. The waiter and waitress watched them intently, muttering to each other. Lance tried not to blush. 

Once they’d ordered, Lance put the townspeople from his mind and stared at Keith instead. “Well?”

Keith sighed. “I came home three nights ago to find the house in a mess,” he began.

“Like your garden?” Lance quipped.

After giving Lance an unimpressed look, Keith continued. “There was a note, in demonic script.” Lance winced at the thought of it; just looking at that ancient writing gave him headaches. It affected humans much more severely, even driving some of them to evil ways with a mere glance. “It said,” Keith continued, ignoring Lance’s expression, “that they’d taken Shiro and to meet them in Galra City if I wanted to get him back.”

“Who’s ‘they’?” Lance asked. 

“Demons. Half-demons. They call themselves, as a collective, the Galra.”

“Because they’re based in Galra City?”

Keith shook his head. “The city was never called that - not until the demons heavily infected it with their influence. They gave their ancient name to the city and rewrote its history with demonic magic.”

Lance’s eyes widened. He had never heard of such a thing. Then again, he was only a half-angel - and an easily corruptible one at that. “That’s… horrifying. What about the humans that live there?”

“Their souls are corrupted beyond redemption.” Keith paused and glanced out of the window. “It’s like… Gotham in the Batman movies.”

Imagining something like that but worse, Lance shuddered. “Is there really no way to save them?”

“If there is, it would take an angel’s touch,” Keith replied. “But none of them go anywhere near that place.”

They fell silent for a moment, contemplating the city residents’ fate. Lance decided to get them back on track. “So, if Galra City is Gotham, does that make Shiro Batman?”

“What?” Keith looked perplexed, frowning at Lance. 

“I mean, they-” Lance broke off as the waitress returned with their food. A large caesar salad was placed in front of him with a healthy drizzle of dressing. Across from him, Keith had a greasy burger that looked as if it would clog his arteries. “Are you even going to be able to eat that?” Lance groused.

Keith spared him a glance before focussing on his food. “Probably. It’s that thing, you know, when your supernatural side needs something…” With a grimace, Keith looked up at him. “I’m not good at this; at explaining things.”

Despite Keith being rather dreadful at it, Lance knew what he meant. There were days when the angel part of him baulked at the sort of things he normally ate. It was as if it wanted to be pure and it drove him to ask for salads. The last couple of days had been particularly bad as he worried about his corruption, though it didn’t feel as desperate at the moment. So Lance shrugged a shoulder, both to show solidarity and to let Keith know that his lack of words didn’t matter. For a while, they were silent, picking their way through their food.

“What were you saying?” said Keith, suddenly. “About Shiro being Batman?”

“Huh? Oh, right.” Lance poked at a piece of lettuce. “Just, you said they took Shiro. Maybe they thought he was a danger to them. Like Batman gets captured by the bad guys all the time.”

“He doesn’t,” Keith protested, frowning at him.

“Fine. He gets captured or tied up a lot.”

“Whatever. Shiro’s not Batman.”

“So he’s not a secret vigilante who dresses all in black and loves bats?”

Keith paused. “Well… If you’d said that he loves _ cats _…”

Lance froze. Then, slowly, he put his fork down beside his plate. That gained Keith’s full attention who pulled his burger away from his mouth. “Are you saying,” Lance asked, “that there’s a half-demon running around wearing a cat costume? Actually, are you saying that Shiro dresses like _ Catwoman_?”

The half-demon grimaced. “No. No, don’t. Don’t put that image into my head!”

Unable to help himself, Lance laughed at Keith’s expression. Then, just as abruptly as he had let loose the noise, he sobered, remembering why they were there. “Uh… So… Shiro’s been kidnapped by demons and taken to Galra City, is what you’re saying, right?”

It was strange, but Lance watched a small smile fade from Keith’s face, his gaze focussing on Lance. Keith cleared his throat before he answered. “Um, yeah. That about sums it up.”

“But what’s that got to do with me?”

Again, Keith grimaced. “Well, uh… I went to Galra City as soon as I’d found the note. They had told me where Shiro would be, telling me to turn up there so they could tell me what they wanted in exchange. I tried to sneak in, but they had some sort of sensor spell in place.”

“Damn,” Lance murmured in response, spearing a baby tomato with his fork.

“More or less, yeah.” Keith paused and stared down at his hands as if he was watching the grease dripping down them, though he didn’t relax. “They- I think they’re planning something. Something bigger than us, bigger than Shiro.”

When Keith stopped to take a bite of his burger, Lance frowned at him. “Why do you think that?”

“They… They want a way to take down an archangel.” Keith raised his gaze and stared straight at Lance. 

Inhaling through his nose, Lance tried to keep calm. However, that look that Keith had given him suggested that he wasn’t talking about just any archangel. “What…? Why would they-?”

“The ‘greatest war’ never happened,” Keith interjected with a shrug. “There’s all those prejudices about both demons and angels. And… in the demon communities, I know that they still want to-”

“Fight?” Lance suggested.

Keith shook his head. “Prove themselves. Prove that they’re not- Not just _ demons _. Or evil.”

“By… fighting angels?”

“By fighting the people who called them evil in the first place.”

Lance blinked, considering that. “Huh,” he said. “I’d never thought of it like that before.”

“No angel does,” said Keith with a shrug.

“So they want to… to ‘take out’ an archangel,” Lance said after a moment. “What’s that got to do with me?”

This time, Keith’s silence spoke of reluctance. He wouldn’t look at Lance, no matter how Lance tilted his head to and fro to try to catch his gaze. Finally, Keith heaved a sigh and put his burger down. Lifting a napkin, Keith began to wipe his hands. Only once he’d finished did he look up, a solemn expression on his face. “They told me to kidnap you and bring you to them so they could draw Alfor out, or to blackmail him into stepping back and letting things happen. If I couldn’t, I was to incapacitate you somehow. I… I didn’t want to give you over to them, so I thought… I wasn’t sure it would work, and I- I…”

“You corrupted me so I would Fall,” Lance said slowly, with a sense of dawning realisation and horror, “so that my father would be too distracted with me to do anything.”

“It wasn’t just that,” Keith quickly admitted. “They said that Alfor and his daughter are formidable foes, that they’re likely the ones that’ll stop them. And I hope they do. But if you were to go to the Academy and come into your true angelic powers, then that would make a trio of powerful beings that would annihilate them.”

Lance stared at him in both horror and surprise. “Me? They’re… scared of _ me_?”

For an instant, Keith’s brow furrowed, as if he was confused about something but quickly dismissed it as unimportant. “Yes,” he said. “Of all of you.”

“So… So, you just got impatient for me to Fall properly, then? Decided to kidnap me after all?”

“_ No _,” Keith emphatically replied. “No, I- I flew to Galra City after you’d left. I told them what had happened - but they refused to give me Shiro.”

“Why not? I’m already corrupted.” Lance looked away from Keith, staring at his hands. “That means you’ve done your job, right?”

“But these are demons I’m dealing with and they refused. Apparently, they’ll wait till they get confirmation of your Fall and the effects of that.” 

Lance looked up at Keith, frowning deeply. “But-”

“-that could take weeks,” Keith finished for him. “And I’m not leaving Shiro with them for any longer than I have to.”

“So you kidnapped me instead.”

“Yeah. I’m sorry.” Keith grimaced. “I don’t actually want to hand you over to them, but if I show them you’re there, they’ll bring Shiro out and I can grab him.”

“And what about me?” Lance asked, pointedly.

“That’s…” Keith stopped and took a breath. “I wasn’t sure what to do, but now that you insisted on talking…”

“Yes?”

“I think we could fight.”

“‘_Fight_’?!” Lance exclaimed before remembering where they were. He lowered his voice and leaned forward over the table, his wings flaring behind him, both in agitation and to keep his balance. “What do you mean ‘ _ fight _’? I’m an angel. I can’t do that - I don’t have any experience-”

“But you’re an _ angel _,” Keith said. “You’ve got holy power, and a lot of these demons are low-level ones, or half-demons. Just a little bit of your power would-”

“That all requires rituals!” Lance protested. “I won’t have time to set those up.”

“What about-?”

“That’s why I want to go to the Academy!” Lance snapped. “I don’t have all of my powers yet. Do _ you_?”

“I have most of it,” Keith said.

Lance wrinkled his nose. “Well, good for you. I don’t. How are we supposed to fight them like that?”

“Um…” Keith scrunched his nose up. “I suppose… We only really need the element of surprise,” he said, slowly. “I mean, I can fight, but you only need to catch them off guard. Some of them are weaklings, so if you concentrate on them…”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

“There’s cuffs in the car,” Keith replied, his expression brightening as an idea occurred to him.

“‘Cuffs’?” asked Lance, with a feeling of trepidation.

* * *

Galra City was much like any other city. A river wound around the southern side, cutting it off from the rest of the state save for two or three rather large suspension bridges. The bridges actually stretched over the houses right on the outskirts, all of them squat and dingy. Towering upwards were the buildings that could be considered skyscrapers if they weren’t considerably shorter than the ones in other cities around the world. Somewhere among them were the huge tourist attractions that Lance had read about, the ones that looked rather demonic. One of them, though, was the tallest building, the tower that let tourists observe the sights of the city. It was the only thing that towered over everything - Lance had the distinct impression that it was watching him. 

The buildings themselves were a dull brown or grey. At least, some of them were in the outskirts. Most of them, however, even the taller buildings, were dark in colour. It was almost as if something had caused the buildings to be dyed black in the centre and then it had seeped into the rest. He was even sure that he had spotted an apartment block that was part red sandstone, part jet black. Just thinking of the way it had spread and the fact that it was clearly evil made Lance shudder.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t just the _ appearance _ that made Lance shudder: he could feel the horrid pressure of pure evil pressing against him, rejecting everything that he was. Not only that, but the demonic energy that the city was drowning in was so strong that Lance could feel the individual sins. Over in one of the houses, someone was envious of their friend who lived in a better neighbourhood with better things. In a decrepit house several blocks away, a woman was beating her child, the wrath consuming her entirely and the hatred within the child rising. A businessman elsewhere in the city was strutting through the streets, proud of his accomplishments and the woman he had talked into being on his arm. Some sort of billionaire was exiting his car outside of his building, the beggars that surrounded it begging for a mere pittance; he turned his nose up, his greed making him buy up another tenement building a few minutes later in a new business deal. In one of the parks, a woman who was trying to lose weight (though she had nothing to lose) stopped at a snack van and bought one of everything because of the misconstrued mockery in her fellow joggers smiles. A student at the local university was neglecting their studies in favour of sleepily watching shows on their laptop - they would nod off, wake up, and continue the cycle till they were expelled. An alleyway contained a leering man who was busy rutting against a woman whose legs parted for him easily as their bodies grew hot together.

That last one made Lance double over in some sort of uncomfortable sensation, his cuffed hands rising up to clutch at his heart. Gritting his teeth, he straightened and tried to lower his wings from their raised position. The city was putting him on edge and it didn’t help that the cuffs were partly sealed with a demonic ritual.

“These aren’t actually working, right?” Lance asked for what must have been the hundredth time.

“No,” Keith promised him once again. “And they can’t activate it because I scored through one of the necessary symbols. Stop worrying.”

“I can’t,” Lance replied. “This place… it feels rotten.”

“I know,” Keith grumbled, glancing around the street they were driving down. It was, thankfully, rather devoid of people. Lance was sure that he would feel all of their sinning if he got too close to the people here.

“You do?” Lance asked when he registered what Keith had said: he wasn’t sure if he should believe that. How could Keith probably know how uncomfortable Lance was?

“I’m only half a demon, remember? The humanity I still have is trying to reject this place while the demon part…” Trailing off, Keith glanced at him and, briefly, Lance noticed that his eyes were glowing again. He looked up and found that Keith’s horns were smoking once again. 

“Keith,” he said slowly, wondering if this reaction was caused by nerves or if he was being affected by the lust sins that were happening around them. “What if this doesn’t work? What if we- What if we’re trapped here? I don’t think I can-”

“It’ll work,” snapped Keith. “It has to. I don’t know what else to do if it doesn’t!”

Seeing that Keith was becoming stressed made Lance calm down, just a little. It was possibly an angelic instinct that made him reach out to touch Keith’s arm. “Okay. I… If you have faith, man, I suppose I can keep it together. It’ll work.”

“It’ll work,” Keith repeated with a firm nod.

“Still,” Lance added, leaning back against his seat. “I wish you’d let me phone home. My friends and family must be worried sick.”

“As long as none of them call Alfor, that won’t matter,” Keith replied. “But I can’t have them trying to find you or sending Alfor here. I don’t want to know what would happen if an archangel came here.”

Lance looked at Keith for a moment and wondered if Alfor would be angry with Keith. He certainly always seemed calm and collected whenever Lance actually got to see him. Allura, however… His sister could sometimes be quick to judge - and quick to convict. With her glowing, holy whip, she could really hurt the half-demon who didn’t seem all that bad in the grand scheme of things. 

Family was important to Lance, too.

“Yeah, probably best not to,” Lance murmured. “Still, I feel bad. And also a little weirded out by this whole situation. I’m not sure I should be going along with this, after everything.”

“I know,” Keith said. “I’m sorry, Lance. I wish…”

Glancing over, Lance gave Keith a smile. “My abuelita used to say that a wish you didn’t finish would never come true.”

“This one wouldn’t come true, anyway,” Keith replied with a rueful smile.

They fell into silence and Lance watched the buildings passing them by. It took a moment for Lance to realise what he was seeing. “Why are there so many WalMarts and McDonald’s?” he asked, baffled. Keith sent him a long look until Lance realised that he already knew the answer. “Oh.”

Lance turned to look out of the window as they descended into another silence. Tall buildings slid past him, most of them black. People walked up and down the street, sneering at each other and calling out insults. Someone ran by with a bag in hand, a woman following and waving a gun, yelling at him. As they rounded a corner, he saw two men in some sort of embrace, one of them moving his hips against the other. It took a moment for Lance to realise what was happening and he quickly looked down at his cuffs again, trying to force back the heat that was beginning to rise once again.

Eventually, Keith broke the silence. “We’re getting close.”

With a quick glance at Keith - their gazes caught for a moment - Lance looked out to see large, squat buildings that were clearly factories and warehouses. Every single one of them was such a deep black that Lance could see their horrid aura just by looking at them. The spaces between them got larger and larger until they were heading towards a lone warehouse. It looked a little decrepit, pieces of the building lying on the ground around it. Within the shadows, seen through the windows and gaps in the brickwork, were several shapes that seemed to dissolve into the darkness with each movement. Lance’s heart sped up at the sight of it and his nerves came back. If this went wrong… 

“Okay,” said Keith as he slowed the car down to stop a little way from a set of doors. “Remember to act scared, and that I’ll probably be a little rough with you.”

“Right,” said Lance, nervously. He didn’t feel like he would need to fake it much. Again, his thoughts turned to his family and friends. Maybe they would have helped. Lance would definitely have felt better with them at their back.

Keith got out of the car. Lance stayed put, still feeling uneasy. Thankfully, Keith came around the car to get to him and Lance realised that it wasn’t a good idea to get out on his own, anyway. “Come here,” Keith growled as he yanked the door open. Before Lance could respond, Keith had grabbed hold of his tunic and hauled him to his feet. At the last second, Lance realised that he needed to fight back and he leaned against him, aiming to get back in the car.

“No!” he cried out. “Let me go! Help! Help!”

“No-one’s going to help you,” Keith mercilessly told him as he began to drag him towards the warehouse. Though he let him, Lance still put in some token struggles, fighting against his pull. At one point, Lance realised that the way he was straining against Keith meant that they were roughly the same in terms of strength. It was an interesting fact that he tucked away for later.

Their noise seemed to attract the attention of the people inside. At the very least, someone appeared in the doorway, a tall, thin man with dark hair that was slicked back. On his head, two curving, twisted horns seemed to copy his hair, sweeping back until their points were hidden from view. His sharp suit was just as dark as his hair and as sharp as his eyes as he watched their approach. He didn’t move to help Keith and merely watched until Keith had gotten Lance close enough for quiet conversation.

“You actually managed it,” the demon said, looking disinterested. “I suppose there will be a lot of demons that will be paying out for lost bets.”

“Of course I did,” said Keith. “So let us in.”

“Let me go!” Lance shouted and jerked against Keith’s grip. He didn’t manage to break it and Keith’s fingers tightened around him, painfully dragging Lance back into his side.

“Shut. Up,” Keith growled, squeezing even tighter until Lance whimpered in pain.

“You should have gagged him,” the demon said. “We don’t want to listen to his whining.”

“I’m not whining,” Lance snapped. “When I get out of this, I’ll-”

Suddenly, the demon was right in front of him. Sure, Lance could normally see half-angels and half-demons moving at speed, as well as some angels. But he’d never met a full demon, and it seemed as though he was faster than either Lance or Keith: beside him, Keith tensed, his head whipping around to stare at the demon. The demon ignored him in favour of staring straight at Lance - who found he couldn’t look away. His eyes were dark; black mixed with a sickly yellow and a rotten purple. They seemed to pierce Lance and he felt like he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t continue speaking. His mouth moved soundlessly and the demon grinned widely. 

“What are you-?” Keith began, his grip tightening on Lance’s arm. This time, it wasn’t an act or meant to cause harm. Lance clung to the feeling as the demon continued staring.

Slowly, Lance began to realise that he could feel something pushing against his holy magic. He shuddered as he realised the demon had raised a hand, his demonic aura brushing against Lance in an attempt to do… something. What it was, Lance couldn’t work out. Both he and Keith watched him, Lance’s eyes wide and fearful. Was this when he was corrupted beyond saving? Was he going to Fall here, alone among demons? He wanted so badly to go home, to go meet Pidge and Hunk, to be anywhere but in this rotten city.

Then the aura retreated in the same instant that the demon caught hold of Lance’s chin in his thumb and forefinger. “Angels,” he said, still staring into Lance, “are so hideous, with all that glowing. And yet this half-breed’s human side has given him a beauty that will turn any demon’s head.” Without taking his eyes from Lance, the demon addressed Keith, confusing Lance for a moment. “Did he turn yours? Or was the fucking you gave him just business?”

“Enough, Haxus,” Keith growled. “Get out of the way so I can take this to Sendak.”

“You can leave him with me,” said Haxus, leering at Lance. “I’ll take good care of him.”

Haxus’s aura suddenly pressed against Lance again, pushing against him. This time, Lance could tell that it was heavily laced with lust. If he had been a mere human, he’d have jumped into Haxus’s arms and begged him to take him to bed. Or to do it with him right there in front of Keith. Thankfully, his angelic powers lowered its potency and he was able to resist it. Unfortunately, he immediately thought of Keith’s hands and mouth on him as he writhed on his bed… A blush came to his cheeks and he tried to duck his head to hide it, only to discover that he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Haxus’s.

All of a sudden, he was torn away from Haxus’s side. Keith had pulled him away, dragging him out from under Haxus’s gaze. Lance felt as if he could breathe once more, an invisible pressure sloughing off him. Shuddering, Lance instinctively leaned away from Haxus and into Keith’s side. He kept his eyes down, just in case, but that seemed to make Haxus terribly amused.

“Get out of our way,” Keith snarled.

Laughing, Haxus stepped aside. “Well, now,” said the demon. “It looks as though half-breed filth can actually be corrupted beyond redemption.”

Lance tensed at that, but Keith was already pulling him forward. His wings flared out as he stumbled after Keith. He had barely registered both movements when he felt something brush against the tip of his left wing. It felt like someone’s fingers and he gasped, pulling it away. Shuddering, he realised that Haxus was following them; his chuckles at Lance’s reaction was far too close. Disgust flooded him: no-one except his family (and a curious Hunk and Pidge) had touched his wings. That was far too intimate a gesture for beings like him and Keith and Haxus and Alfor - and yet, Haxus had just breached that line to make him feel all the more uneasy.

Keith tugged on his arm again and it drew Lance’s attention back to him. With a quick, emotionless glance, Keith wordlessly asked if he was okay. He wasn’t sure how he knew that was what it meant, but Lance did. So, with a quick ducking of his head, Lance nodded. Despite everything so far, he wasn’t about to bail on Keith when he needed his help.

Then they stepped into the warehouse and Lance’s courage started to fail. There were so many demons of every size and shape and gender. Some of them were smaller than the others and their auras were different: half-demons whose humanity had been corrupted by their demonic parts. A lot of them were huge and bulky, with obvious, hulking muscles. Those that were thinner had sharp eyes, piercing Lance and Keith as they kept walking, moving into the wide, open space that the warehouse contained. Shadows concealed features and Lance knew that, should he get free, he would only be able to identify Keith and Haxus - the rest would be safe from prosecution. 

Around them were broken conveyor belts, used as tables for the multiple drinks the demons had gathered. Abandoned boxes spilled what looked like boxes of chocolate onto the floor. Above them, lights hung, bulbs smashed or simply dusty with disuse. The rest of it looked as though it had either been smashed up or taken apart by someone. Lance wondered if the demons were still in the process of gutting the warehouse so they could turn it to their own use.

And then there were the demons’ presences, their auras. Each one pressed against Lance. He could feel the lust and envy and wrath and pride and greed within each of them. Strangely, none of them embodied sloth or gluttony; he supposed that they would be too busy being lazy to help the others. Every single one of them was staring at him, watching as Keith dragged him through the crowd. Lance tried not to look, convinced that, if he did, he would be lost.

Just as they reached the middle of the huge space, a rumbling voice called out to them. “Runt,” it said. “That was quick. Almost too quick.”

“I had plans in place,” Keith retorted. “Where’s Shiro?”

“All in good time, halfling.”

Lance rolled his eyes at the words. “He has a name. Don’t you know it?” he muttered, mainly to himself. He realised his mistake when Keith stilled beside him. A silence descended on the room and Lance resisted the urge to gulp.

“You have not gagged it?” asked the voice, the one that seemed to come from the rather large shadow that was moving steadily closer. Lance shuddered at the way it spoke about him; it was clear the speaker thought of him as unimportant, like a cheap toy from a Happy Meal.

“There was no need to,” Keith replied, his grip tightening on Lance’s arm again, a show of solidarity. Lance tried not to wince as it became painful.

“It does look quite pretty, I suppose,” the voice continued, apparently ignoring Keith. “I wonder if we can sell it to one of the filth that populates this city.”

Both Lance and Keith tensed at that. “I thought you were blackmailing Alfor,” Keith growled. “If you give Lance over-”

“Oh, you know its name. How adorable.”

“Leave Alfor alone!” Lance snapped, trying to look intimidating but probably only looking terrified. His ‘act’ was definitely no longer one.

“No, I don’t think I will,” said the deep voice, and the shadow stepped into the light.

The person was a full demon and he was the largest one Lance had ever seen. His horns curled around the side of his head, the points growing upwards, sharp and deadly. It was said that those whose horns twisted were truly evil, worse than those whose horns were straight. One eye glowed purple - at least, Lance thought it was his eye. All he could see was light where his eye should be. His left arm was larger than his other, and it looked as though it could crush Lance with one squeeze. The pitch black wings behind him were spread, though not all the way, yet they were still wider than Lance and Keith’s wingspan combined. There was also a tail which Lance could see flicking around behind him, the appendage thick, agile and with a sharply pointed tip. For a moment, Lance was sure he saw blood dripping from it and, somehow, he knew that the demon used it to kill.

Lance was utterly terrified and it was only through sheer force of will that he didn’t panic.

Keith took advantage of the break in conversation to speak. “Where’s Shiro? I brought what you wanted, so give him back!”

The demon stared at Keith for a moment, disinterested. “I think I might just keep him.”

“Then you won’t get this one,” Keith snapped, dragging Lance closer to him. He put an arm around Lance’s waist and Lance felt a little safer.

“You think we wouldn’t take it from you?” said the demon with a low, chilling chuckle.

“You can try,” growled Keith, pulling Lance closer until their wings were brushing. It was almost too intimate for Lance and he tried to lean away, even as he sought to keep Keith close. That only made him fidget at his side, staring down at the cuffs. 

Again, the demon laughed. “You may be a filthy half-breed, but you do have the tenacity of us superior demons. If you would like, you could corrupt yourself further, work _ with _ us. We would be willing to take you in.”

“Enough, Sendak,” snapped Keith. “Give me back my brother.”

Sendak’s lip curled. “Ah, that human sensitivity. You have too much of it for our group and what we need to do.”

Lance frowned. What did Sendak mean by that? Were they not simply acting on the behalf of all demons and half-demons? If they were in their own group, did that mean that something bigger was going on? Or was this restricted to Galra City? Was the world in danger? Were Lance’s family and friends?

He didn’t get the chance to voice any questions. Keith was quick to reiterate his demands. “If you don’t bring Shiro to me _ right now _, your group will be reduced to merely a handful.” He held out his hand and, with a shock of demonic magic that Lance could feel from how close he was, Keith summoned a sword from seemingly nowhere. Lance wondered what would happen when he got the rest of his powers and how much more dangerous Keith would be.

Eyes on his sword, Sendak’s malicious grin faded into a scowl. “Haxus,” he said, making Lance look over his shoulder. Only a few feet behind them, the demon from before stood watching the interaction. Lance shuddered at how close he had gotten; Keith gave his waist a squeeze. “Bring him,” Sendak said. Haxus bowed, smiling that sharp smile and turned to go, quickly melting into the shadows.

As they waited, the demons shifted. Some seemed to move closer to Lance; he could feel their eyes on him, waiting to pounce. Others made their way to their companions to whisper and giggle. Keith seemed unaffected, even when one or two of them appeared from the shadows to glower at him. Lance, however, felt like he was waiting for a battle to start.

Finally, there was movement from behind Sendak. Shadows shifted and reformed and became demonic forms before they resolved into more human shapes. There was a dragging noise that grew louder as it came closer. A sudden smacking noise startled Lance; it also made something growl. The growling grew in volume and the movements of the shadows grew erratic. Lance was even more terrified than before and he shrank into Keith’s side, their wings pressing more firmly together. It made Lance shudder, a mix of emotions causing his heart to pound.

Sendak stepped aside as the shapes - three or four people, Lance thought - reached the edge of the light. There was a harsh, jerking movement and someone was thrown to the floor in front of them, though still too far to reach. “There you go,” said Sendak, blithely. 

Sprawled on the floor, was a demon. His hair was a mess, the white strands at the front sticking in all directions. The rest of his hair was matted with dirt and grease, the dark strands hidden by the dust. Muscled as he was, the demon looked big and dangerous, especially with the glowing scar over his nose. His eyes glowed purple, as did the points of his horns which were longer than Keith’s and pointed straight up. As he snarled at them, his right arm also glowed, enveloped in some sort of magic which glowed alternately black and purple, swirling around him dangerously. 

Beside him, Lance felt Keith tense. He didn’t understand until he noticed the lack of recognition in the demon’s eyes. Whatever had happened to Shiro since he’d been taken, it had resulted in the half-demon retreating deep into his own mind.

“Shiro?” Keith whispered. His brother hissed at him, not even capable of words. With a quick squeeze of Lance’s waist, Keith let him go to fall at his brother’s side. “Shiro, it’s me! It’s Keith.”

“Oh, how sweet,” said Sendak. When Lance peeled his eyes from the scene before him, he saw that Sendak’s gaze was fixed on him. He froze, wondering why he seemed so fixated on him all of a sudden. 

“What have you done to him?!” Keith demanded.

“He’s spent some time in the arena,” Haxus explained from the edge of the light, his face in shadows. The only part of him that Lance could clearly see was his sharp-edged, mocking grin.

“_No_.” Keith reached for Shiro, only for the half-demon to grab one of Keith’s hands in his good one. They stared at one another, Shiro clearly furious. Keith’s back was to Lance so he couldn’t see how he was handling the sight; Lance was upset by it, so he could only imagine how scared Keith must be to see his brother in such a state. “You won’t get away with this!” Keith declared, his free hand clenched in a fist.

“Shut up, runt,” growled Sendak. “Take him.”

It took Lance a moment to realise that Sendak was talking about him and not Keith or Shiro. In fact, it wasn’t until he felt the movement at his back that Lance became aware that he was in trouble. Hands clamped down on his arms and, with a cry, he was pulled backwards and away from Keith. Frantic, he dug in his heels and fought as best as he could with the cuffs still on him, jabbing who he could with his elbows and kicking those that were close enough. With wide eyes, he searched for Keith, waiting for the signal or the word that it would be okay to fight back. 

But there seemed to be no help forthcoming, for Keith was nowhere to be seen. All Lance could see were a sea of faces and horns and shadows. With nothing else to do, Lance struggled all the more. “Let me go!” he demanded. “Where are you taking me? Don’t you touch me!”

One of the demons leaned closer to Lance. “Shut up,” they growled. “It’s too late now.”

“No!” Lance exclaimed, struggling all the more.

Suddenly, just before the shadows could claim him, a voice rang out over the crowd, clear as a bell. “Lance!” Keith shouted. Everything stilled around him and he stared back towards where Keith was. The crowd parted enough that Lance could see him where he still knelt beside a snarling Shiro, Sendak towering over him. But Keith’s head was turned and he was looking right at Lance. “Let’s go.”

That was enough of a signal for Lance. With a grimace and a grunt of effort, Lance jerked on the handcuffs and broke them, showing the demons that he was free - and dangerous. As soon as the cuffs were broken, the concealment charm that Keith had placed over the flower chain on Lance’s left wrist disappeared. There were daisies and snowdrops and Baby’s Breath and Lily of the Valley. All of those pure flowers that were connected in a hastily made bracelet were imbued with Lance’s angelic power with a particular ritual.

Angels and half-angels were imbued with Heavenly power and both classes of beings could wield any number of powers and weapons. However, angels could produce holy fire with a flick of their fingers, while half-angels required magic circles and the right plants and spells. Holy water could be made simply by blessing a body of water bigger than a mouthful. Lance had had no time to bless some water and wasn’t powerful enough to be able to summon fire. But there were other ways to fight evil, and that was to shine light on it. 

Holding his arm aloft, Lance spoke loudly and clearly. “Fiat lux!” Before any of the demons but Keith could react, a bright white light shone from his bracelet. He shook his wrist and the light swept the warehouse in several long pulses. Lance could feel some of the evil drop from the walls of the building and he smirked; even if the demons survived this assault, they would be uncomfortable here for quite some time. With his angelic eyes, he surveyed the demons through the light. Most of them were doubled over in pain. The closest to him were sprawled on the floor, unconscious. Since he didn’t want to kill anyone despite Keith’s protests, they were partially protected by Lance’s own magic. If he hadn’t added the Baby’s Breath, they would be dead at his feet. Sendak had his odd arm up and over his eyes, protecting himself. Keith, however, had his eyes squeezed shut but was covering Shiro’s head with his body: the two of them would be safe when this was over.

Eventually, the magic dissipated and the flower chain disintegrated. Petals and stems fell to the ground and Lance watched them, his heart aching from causing the death of something so pretty. Movement attracted Lance’s attention and he lifted his gaze to see that Keith was slowly uncurling from his position. Relieved, Lance stepped towards him, intent on helping him get Shiro to the car. Unfortunately, he was immediately stopped by a couple of demons who got in his way. They looked eerily similar, both of them with long, flowing red hair and overly large breasts. 

And they were both wearing sunglasses.

With a gasp, Lance backed off, glancing around to take in the rest of the demons. Either his spell hadn’t been as powerful as he had thought or a lot of the demons had seen his trick before and had been prepared for it the moment he’d lifted his arm. Surrounded, Lance didn’t know what to do. He had no weapon and no real power, not yet. Typically, half-angels got their very own, personal power whenever they entered the Academy - and now it looked as though Lance wouldn’t get the chance. The only thing to do would be to fight as best he could, to struggle against them until he could get to Keith and the three of them could get out of there.

There was no way he could leave Keith there and flee, after all.

Although… Glancing upwards, Lance noticed that the warehouse was exactly like every single one he had seen on TV - equipped with a high ceiling and dirty windows situated high up. If he could get to Keith and Shiro, maybe… But, first, he had to deal with the other demons. With his mind made up, Lance spared Keith one more glance. The half-demon was slowly getting to his feet, a sword in his hand again and his eyes on the larger Sendak. There was no more time to second-guess himself. So, Lance took another step back from the demons and spread his wings.

He saw their eyes widen as they realised what he was about to do. Grinning at them, Lance let his wings sweep downwards, beating them steadily. Before any of the demons could react, Lance was in the air, soaring upwards. The air, though thick with evil and sins, blew pleasantly across his face as Lance sped up, spinning to and fro in the air as he tried to assess the immediate threats. 

The twin demons had launched themselves into the air, beating their wings quickly to catch up with him. A couple of others followed their lead, but most just watched, apparently of the opinion that he wouldn’t get far. Lance soared over them and spun around. Looking down, he could see that Keith was going toe to toe with Sendak while Shiro stayed on the ground. He couldn’t hear him, but Lance imagined that Shiro was still growling, though the fact that he hadn’t attacked Keith yet was probably a good sign.

Before he could dive down to grab Shiro or Keith, the twins caught up with him. Their hands glowed and twin, glowing whips appeared. The purple light of them made Lance flinch, aware that they would hurt him if they touched his skin. He remembered Allura’s weapon and wondered who was more skilled with that particular weapon. Then he was suddenly able to compare them as the whips flicked out towards him. With a gasp, Lance twisted and rolled in the air, barely avoiding the magical leather. However, he kept his momentum and was soon knocking the twins aside. 

Unfortunately, that only meant that he was now in the direct path of the demons that had followed them up. The two of them had rather disconcerting weapons: a chainsaw and a pair of nunchucks. Alarmed, Lance twisted at the last moment. He felt the wind of their demonic magic brush against his wings as he flapped them, pushing himself out of their path. With the speed that he was going at, the wall suddenly loomed in front of him and, with a grimace, he turned again and used his legs to stop himself from banging into it.

Once he’d righted himself, he saw that the demons that had been attacking him had gotten entangled with each other. One of the twins fell as she grappled with the chainsaw demon, taking him down with her. The other two were fighting each other, their wings beating steadily as they waved their weapons around. Both of them looked equally matched - and also completely distracted from Lance. 

Grinning, Lance turned to look down at Keith. He’d barely glanced down when he spotted something fast and dangerous coming straight for him. With a cry, he flipped over in midair so that he dodged whatever it was. He could feel the lust that surrounded the demon that had been aimed straight for him. It made him shudder and he backed off, eyes wide as he realised who it was.

Haxus stopped just short of the ceiling and turned to face Lance, a wide, wicked grin on his face.

“Come now, angel. I know you don’t want to hurt us.” Haxus held his hand out. “You should come back down with me and accept your fate. You’re too weak to resist us.”

Scared at how his body was growing warm, Lance backed further away. “No. Keith and I are going to ruin all your plans.”

“Oh, really?” said Haxus, his tone smug. “I think that Keith will not be with us much longer.”

“What? What do you mean?” Lance demanded.

Haxus didn’t reply. He simply pointed downwards. Lance paused, unwilling to take his eyes from Haxus, wary of being attacked. However, there didn’t seem to be more of an explanation forthcoming so, slowly, carefully, Lance looked down. What he saw stole his breath and he almost stilled completely and dropped from the air.

Keith’s sword was nowhere near him. There was a glint of metal and Lance noticed a knife that looked out of place in the warehouse. It lay close to him, but too far for him to get to - not when Sendak loomed over him. Shiro was still where he had been left, on his knees as he snarled at the demons who surrounded him. Sendak clearly didn’t care about Shiro, too focussed on Keith. The demon lifted both of his hands, clasped together. As Lance watched, his left arm suddenly increased impossibly in size. It was clearly much larger than Keith’s head and, as he watched, that seemed exactly where Sendak intended to drive it down on.

Lance gasped. He couldn’t let Keith die, not because of him. Quickly, he snapped his wings out and angled himself towards the half-demon, intent on pulling him out of danger. However, before he’d gotten far, he was stopped as Haxus cut into his path. His grin was wide as he blocked Lance, his dark wings spread wide enough that Lance wouldn’t be able to get around him - yet Lance could clearly see what was happening.

Sendak’s arms started to arc down. Keith’s eyes were wide, his lips parted. Shiro watched, still gritting his teeth, his arm still glowing. Haxus laughed.

“No!” Lance cried out, tears blurring his vision.

Suddenly, Lance felt something tug from within. It wasn’t quite tugging at his heart, but at something else. He knew that he was glowing without being able to see it. Instinct overrode everything else and he raised his arms in a specific way. Despite Haxus being in his way, Lance could see his target clearly. With a burst of energy, Lance sent something flying.

An arrow buried itself into Sendak’s inflated arm and, with a howl, he stumbled backwards and left Keith unharmed.

Lance blinked and became aware of himself again. Haxus was no longer in front of him, likely blasted away from the path of the arrow that had flown straight and true. He could see himself glowing from the corner of his eye, especially in his hands. Looking down at himself, his eyes widened in surprise. 

In his hands was a bow, another arrow nocked into the string, waiting for him to take aim and let it fly.


End file.
